This quote really stood out to me when I first heard it a few weeks ago. It makes me think of the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink."
At work probably my favorite part of my job is training people. I love the feeling when things start to click and slowly people go from feeling completely out of their depth to realizing they have the skills and knowledge of how to do this job. It's amazing, but not because I really did anything. All I'm doing is talking and giving them tools as I explain how to use the different programs and the rules of the job. They're the ones who have to choose to learn.
In a similar way I feel like God will sometimes use this same process. Don't get me wrong, He definitely teaches us. Often though, He teaches us by allowing us to experience things.
Good things, bad things, all of them make us what we are today. Each experience teaches us something. So often we ask why do bad things happen? I don't have a good answer to that question. Not one that will really satisfy someone who is hurting. I may not be able to explain why bad things happen but I know that when God allows bad things to happen He also allows us to learn from those things. He provides the conditions in which we can learn.
I don't believe that God causes bad things to happen. I believe He allows them to happen and then helps us learn from them. So often the worst things we go through end up teaching us the most. We'd love to be spared the pain. If we were, would we still be the people we are? Would we still be able to help the people we come across? Would we we have the strength to deal with what comes up in our lives?
Who has God put in your life to teach this week? Can you find a way to provide them conditions where they can learn?
What conditions has God put you in? And what is He teaching you by putting you in that situation?
No comments:
Post a Comment