No one gets exemption from hardship on planet Earth. How we receive it hinges on whether we believe in an alternative reality that transcends the one we know so well. The Bible never minimizes hardship or unfairness– witness books like Job, Psalms, and Lamentations. It simply asks us to withhold final judgment until all the evidence is in.

‘Do not be afraid’ is the most frequent command in the Bible…. We have a thousand fears: mammograms and prostate tests, our children’s future as well as their present, retirement funds, job security, crime. We fear not getting the job we want or the lover we desire, and if we have them we fear their loss. In the face of such everyday fear, Jesus points to a lily, or a sparrow, and calmly says, Trust. Seek first the kingdom of heaven.

~Philip Yancey in Rumours of Another World, p. 217