Reflect for a moment on the religions of the past, how in
every age the Cause of God has withstood the storms of enmity and opposition
that have raged against it, no matter how severe. Consider, as well, how every
attempt in this Dispensation to suppress the development of the Faith has
spurred its further progress and released untold potentialities in its avowed
supporters. Divine Will has ever been thus, for the appearance of spring is
conditioned upon the bitter winds of winter. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has stated: “The
weeping of the cloud giveth rise to the smile of the rose, and the crash of
thunder maketh way for the warbling of the nightingale. The intensity of the
cold bringeth on the beauty of the bloom and the chilling rain adorneth the
garden with blossoms of every hue.”
(The
Universal House of Justice, from a message dated 18 March 2009 to the Baha’is
in Iran)
