Have you ever found yourself in a situation where there are no good options? Every choice looks like a dead end. It begins to feel hopeless.
So many situations we find ourselves in can make us feel hopeless. So many situations can cause us to start panicking.
I have some bad news for you…I know that’s why you decided to read this…more bad news.
Here it is…
This isn’t your last hopeless situation. You will face many more. And the worst part is you can’t do anything to stop them from coming.
If that’s true it means we have to come up with a plan or a strategy on how to get through these stressful situations and still be able to enjoy life in the middle of the chaos. If you have to wait until everything is perfect to experience joy you’ll miss most of your life.
It’s very important for you to understand your stressful situation isn’t because God takes pleasure in your pain. You need to be crystal clear about that truth.
God takes no joy in your suffering. In fact, He takes great joy in suffering for you! It’s the message of Jesus. He suffered in our place on the cross.
Since God doesn’t take pleasure in our suffering then why do we suffer? Good question! Sometimes it’s because of free choice…when evil people choose wrongly innocent people suffer. Sometimes it’s because we live on a broken planet…everyone eventually dies.
No matter the situation, God is growing you. He is growing your character and He is growing your understanding of just the type of God He is – One of love. All throughout life God is growing your character and your knowledge of him.
Have you ever used flashcards to help your kids learn math facts? We used them with all of our kids and every single one of them hated it. But as they’ve gotten older they’ve seen the value in something they once despised. One day my oldest daughter came to me and said, “Dad, thank you for doing flash cards with me. I would really be struggling in math if you didn’t help me learn my facts.” When her younger sister started complaining about flash cards I asked her to testify to the wisdom of the holy flash cards.
Now it’s my son’s turn to go through the flash cards. When he starts complaining I march the holy sisters in to testify to the wisdom of the flash cards.
My son doesn’t know it but there is more pain in his future. He isn’t ready for the knowledge that there are more flash cards on the horizon. Once he masters his addition facts, there’s a whole stack of subtraction flash cards and after those multiplication.
If I dropped all of the flash cards on him at once he would be overwhelmed and quit. But each year he will be ready for more. Each year builds upon the previous year. One day he can get to the place his sisters did in seeing the value of something he once thought was terrible.
What if what you are going through right now isn’t because God is punishing you or mad at you, but instead He is trying to prepare you for your future? What if God sees some things on your horizon that you don’t? What if God is trying to grow you and mature you so you’ll be ready for what He has in mind for your future?
Some truths about ourselves and God can only be learned by being placed in difficult situations. We love stories about God working miracles, we just hate to be in a place where we need one. You can’t experience the joy of a miracle without being in a hopeless place. You don’t understand God as a deliverer until your back is against the wall.
If you find yourself in a difficult situation, God knows where you are. He hasn’t forgotten you! He is preparing you for the future He sees! Trust the wisdom of His flash cards.
