Have you ever been in a trying or difficult situation and thought, “What am I supposed to learn from this?”  If you have, or know others who have, it is because that kind of thinking is propounded by some people.  But, why is that?

Now of course you and I learn many things from various difficult situations that we face in our lives, no doubt.  We all make mistakes, and, hopefully, we learn from them.  I’m not denying that.

But posing the question, “What am I supposed to learn from this,” results in subtle undertones that the situation itself was given to me for the sole purpose that I need to learn something.  I do not ascribe to that kind of thinking, and I’ll tell you why.

Trying Times Are Not Fun

First of all, being in a difficult situation is never pleasant. Whether it is through my own mistakes, or something outside of my control, those situations are never a lot fun.  Wouldn’t you agree?

But then, if I then add to the current misery that this situation was given to me so that I could learn something, I have to wonder who gave it to me. Don’t you?  And there are some well meaning religious people quick to inform you that God is the one who gave you this misery, because you are supposed to learn something.

I believe that is foolish.  If you’ve ever read about the man Job in the Bible, then you know that he experienced an extremely difficult time.  He lost all his children, all of his wealth, and, almost all his health in a very short amount of time.  It was so bad that his wife encouraged him to just curse God and die.  But the record says that Job never charged God foolishly.

Whether openly, which some people do, or subtly, it disgusts me to hear God being blamed for troubles, hardships and evil.  The nature of the one true God is love and light, not hate and darkness.  To think that difficult times are engineered by Him so that you can learn something is very degrading to the Almighty.

The truth is that in difficult situations we certainly might learn something valuable, but on the other hand we might not.  A better question might be, “What can I learn from all of this?”  Of course, if we’re honest, we all know that in those difficult situations, what we learn is not our primary focus, is it?  The learning usually takes place once we’ve discovered a solution or resolution and we look back and reflect.

His Nature

The one true God is a God of love, light and deliverance; a very present help in time of need.  He does not send sickness, tragedy, or difficult times because you need to learn a few things.  However, there is another god mentioned in the Bible who has quite a different agenda.  He comes to steal, kill and destroy.

The evil in this world originates from, as the Bible calls him, “the god of this world,” among other names.  There is day coming when he will be completely destroyed.  But even so, I am also not one of those who constantly refer to the devil. I don’t say, “The devil did that; look what the adversary did to me now; Satan is really attacking this time,” or anything similar.

Even though I know that all the evil can be traced back to him, I refuse to even give him credit for his evil. Instead, I choose to put my focus on my loving God and Father.  The one true God is a God of solutions, even miraculous solutions at times.  The Bible states, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

It’s Your Choice

As we go through this life we ought to continue learn and grow.  And certainly in difficult situations there are things we can learn.  But why not choose to keep your focus on the Giver, the Supplier, and the Healer? Focus on the truth in the Bible that nothing can separate you from His love.

By the way, the man Job had some friends who in his time of trouble tried very hard to get him to admit that his situation was the result of sin in his life.  But, once they were all done jawing, God asked Job to pray for them!  You would have thought it would be the other way around, right?

Then God not only healed Job, but He gave him double of everything that he lost.  God doesn’t steal, He gives; He doesn’t kill, He heals.

And, one more thought, just for fun.  Have you ever noticed that when something really good is happening in your life, no one ever says, “What are you supposed to learn from this?”

Mike Verdicchio
2012

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