Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV

Life does not always work the way we expect. And too often we try to use God to change our circumstance, when God is trying to use our circumstance to change us. Sometimes in the moment, you can’t see what God is doing with a thing. What you see in the moment, and the things that are happening in your life, have a particular hue to them. They have a meaning. But that meaning is not actually the meaning. It’s the meaning in the moment. But its true meaning is only seen in the context of a much larger, God-sized view. God allows circumstances to enter our life for the purpose of developing our character and bringing Him glory. The reason is not always revealed for us. But we can trust Him to always do what is best.

Our temptation is to get angry with Him, but that is silly because we have such limited knowledge. Job, a godly man, endured an enormous amount of suffering while remaining faithful to God. It is possible that God knows something that you do not know about why that thing happened. And if you are willing to let it breathe, you might very well see His wisdom.

The Operative Question: What is God trying to do in this situation?