Sometimes . . .

God is not necessarily trying to break our hearts by directing our path through hard places. 

. . . 

But, friends, He is trying to make us look like Jesus. 

. . . 

You know what else He wants to do? 

. . . 

He wants to cultivate a deep trust in Him and dependence on Him. 

. . . 

He wants to make us ready for all the things He planned and purposed for us before we breathed our first breath. The things He sees coming that we can’t even imagine. 

. . . 

He wants to teach us how to point people to Jesus in all things. He wants to show us how He makes beautiful things out of the hard places. 

. . . 

And above all, He wants us know Him more deeply and intimately and love Him most.

. . . 

Sometimes, heartbreak leads to deeper humility and trust. Sometimes, hard things give you eyes to see Jesus more clearly than before. Why only sometimes? Because you get to choose. 

Choose to surrender. Choose to believe. Choose to trust. Choose to see. 

He cares for us deeply, and He always keeps His promises. 

But, Why? (Five-Minute Friday Style)

Go.

Why? 

Oh goodness. Sometimes, you have to let go of the need to know why. You have to be ok not knowing. Confession: I'm not always good at that. But, thankfully, Holy Spirit is patiently teaching me. There have been times when, instead of trusting God's nature, I have demanded answers from Him. Why did that happen to me? Why didn't you protect me? Why didn't you heal her? Why did you let him die? Why? There are SO many things wrong with this mindset. But, let's land here: He's God. I am not. I mistakenly believed God owed me some explanation. Real talk? He doesn't. Indeed, God can handle my questions. It's just that my questions were coming from a place of anger and bitterness. And, that's never good. Sometimes, we believe we have earned the right to be angry, and we guard the wounded places of our hearts. But God wants unrestricted access to our wounded hearts and the broken pieces of our lives. And when you invite Him to work in those fractured, hidden places, guess what happens?  You start asking different questions. And, knowing why doesn't seem all that important because you trust Him. So, instead of demanding answers to all of the whys, you ask God to reveal something of Himself to you. You ask the Holy Spirit to teach you things, to make you more like Jesus. You learn to lean into the truth that Jesus changes everything. Here's the thing: We have to want Him more than we want answers to all the why questions. He wants to be the one thing we desire above all else. We have to trust Him more than we need to have every answer. Because, friends, there are seasons of life when HE is the only thing that makes sense. He's unchanging. He's constant. He's true. And, He's perfectly trustworthy. He never gets it wrong. Never.

Stop.