Inside: If the life lessons from a tough season aren’t immediately obvious, don’t lose heart. God has a purpose, and waiting is often part of the process. ~

What is God trying to teach me through this?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever asked yourself this question. Keep it up if you found the inquiry to be unhelpful, perhaps even counterproductive.

I’ve been there, desperately wanting to know God’s long-term purposes for me in a season designed for rest, healing and patience development. It’s hard to wait and trust, that’s for sure.

Beyond That …

The question also makes God seem like a novice instructor who doesn’t really know the best way to get through to His struggling student.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is the God who created each one of us, after all. He knows how we are formed. He wired us together. He’s numbered our days and the hairs on our heads.

With our heavenly Father, there is no try. He knows how we learn best, and He knows how best to teach us.

What’s the Point?

Plus, maybe God trying to teach us something isn’t even the point of our trials. Not all the time, anyway.

We want to know the reason for our struggle because we think that would make it easier to bear. But what if we can’t know, at least not immediately?

If we feel like some lesson that we’re missing is what’s keeping us from a full recovery, it just puts more pressure on us. To get it. To know what might be unknowable at the time. To learn the right thing fast enough.

As if we are in control of anything.

No Extra Credit

God doesn’t hand us a syllabus after we break our leg that outlines the lessons He expects us to learn while we’re doing our physical therapy exercises at home. That would be nice, but that’s not how it works.

We don’t get grades for how we respond to trials. There’s no extra credit, no pass-fail, no curve.

Instead, we need to remember that whatever we’re going through is part of a process. Yes, we will likely learn things as a result of this. Other people will probably learn things too.

God has a purpose. There will be helpful outcomes. There will be growth. But these things take time.

In the Waiting

Maybe it’s a developmental thing. If so, the waiting is often part of the process, just like the struggle.

It’s always beneficial to pray for guidance and direction, to ask God to shine a loving spotlight on our character, attitude and behavior in case there are areas we need to work on. But if the “lessons” aren’t obvious, we shouldn’t think we are doing something wrong.

We may have a-ha experiences in the wilderness, in the thick of the battle or in the valley of the shadow, but we also may not notice growth until we’re looking at a season in the rearview mirror. Or until we experience something similar later on and suddenly see that we are not responding how we once did.

Remember This

There’s nothing wrong with asking, “What is God trying to teach me?” But if that question starts to frustrate you like it has me, remember this.

God knows what we need, and in His sovereignty, He lovingly provides it. Life is one big continuing education session—we’re never really done until God calls us home.

Until then, His goal is not to get us through the trial and back in shape. As much as we might prefer it, He’s not looking to get us back on our feet and on our way.

His overarching desire—through all the ups and downs of life—is for us to become more like Him.

• • •

In Case You Missed It

I sent out the first issue of my subscriber-only, email newsletter, Courage, Dear Heart, last week. Going forward, the newsletter will replace my third blog post of each month.

I’m so thankful for those of you who have subscribed. If you’re not on the list yet, I’d love for you to sign up today. As my way of saying thanks, you will receive a seven-day devotional called Faith, Fear, and the God Who Goes Before Us once you subscribe.

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♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.