There Are Other Reasons

“I have reason to praise him for my trials, for, most probably, I should have been ruined without them.” - John Newton

Just because something bad is happening to you doesn’t always mean you are being punished. Sometimes we feel we made mistakes and that’s why we are being punished right now. Sure, if you don’t study for a test and just hang out all night of course you’re going to fail and have to deal with that. Yes, being careless with your money is going to land you in hot water with your bills. Being irresponsible leads you to have to pay for those irresponsible mistakes. Indeed, there are times where we are paying for our mistakes. But this is not always the case.  The same goes for any other person you see having a rough moment. Sometimes we jump to conclusions that they were very bad and that’s why bad things are happening to them. There are other reasons for us being in hot water.

Sometimes God is taking you closer to your purpose. He sees your future and knows where you are headed. He knows what you will need to handle some moments and He likes to equip us and prepare us. We are on the journey and God has been to the end and back already. How perfect is that Guide to let you know if you’ll need a flashlight or not. Maybe we need more patience or less naivete or more strength or less pride. Only God knows and He tries to shape us and prune us to be ready at our best. We have heard the saying there is purpose in your pain.  So there’s a chance you are not being punished but being refined. You’ll come out better and wiser.

Sometimes God is just trying to get our attention. Maybe you have stopped praying as much. Maybe it’s been a while since you picked up your Bible. Maybe we have fallen off the wagon in general. God loves to spend time with us. He created us as His children. He wants to have a relationship with you. Everything we do matters to God. I mean everything. He already knows the mistakes you’re going to make or the wrongs you’re going to commit and that doesn’t take away any bit of love He has for us. For Him to love every dark and crazy corner of our lives says a lot. All He is asking for in return is that we build a relationship with him and get to know him as well. To feel the joy and love that he has and always will have for us. That trial could be a call to come back home.

Sometimes the trial is a disguised blessing. God could be trying to put you on the right path and the transition looks like a lot of “No’s” coming your way. We only see the surface whereas God sees the whole picture. Any way we look at it, it’s confusing and hard to understand. But after time has passed, you turn back and realize that struggle was leading you to a better place. Soren Kierkegaard said “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Those oppositions may be pushing you to a higher position or saving you from something worse. 

However, there are some trials we will never understand or know why they had to happen. God never told Job why everything happened to him. We are not always going to understand why. Through each pain and trial the good news is God is in control. No matter what comes our way. They will not last forever. Put your trust in Him to get you through it. When you come out, which you will, you will be in a better place than when you went in. But remember there are other options than you telling yourself you are a terrible person, which you are absolutely not.