Uttering curses with the desire to inflict pain upon someone is as old as humanity. The Bible calls for the death penalty for cursing parents or dignitaries.

Even when we exercise free moral agency, God engineers circumstances and outcomes so that we are virtually forced to make the right decision.

We have to exercise faith, realizing the timing will be right for us, enabling us to accept His provisions and decisions for us without fear or anxiety.

Every previous event and decision in our lives has shaped our resultant character, including the bad decisions that led us down a wrong path.

Christ urges God's elect to endure to the end. What is that end? He desires that we persevere through our struggles in faith, building godly character.

God uses calamities as part of His creative process. Like Jacob, who initially succumbed to weak faith and fear, we must repent of our loss of devotion to God.