Sometimes things happen that no matter what, there’s no way we could have stopped it, or changed it, and there’s no way we could have seen it coming. We find ourselves in a situation of need, frustration, embarrassment, etc. The easiest thing to do is act on those feelings in desperation, instead of patience and wisdom. We might ask, “Why?! Why is this happening to me?” as if for some reason we should have been exempt from it happening to us. Well, why not? What makes us so special; more special than other people, that we shouldn’t have stressful situations happen in our lives? Do we think we’re somehow above all of that then? We react mostly because we were caught unaware, and unequipped in the moment, to handle it in a better way. The thing is that God was not surprised by what happened. He already knew about it ahead of time. I’ve heard it said that He does this to see what we will do. I don’t believe that. He is omniscient, and already knows all. He doesn’t need to test us to see what we will do in the situation, or about the situation. I believe He might be allowing this to happen to show us something about our own selves. I think He sometimes uses situations to illuminate areas we need to work on. I know He has used my circumstances to do that in my life; that is, when He finally got through to me and got my attention. It’s like He was lovingly cupping my face in His hands, helping me focus my eyes on Him, and then pointing to the thing or things He wanted me to see that were not what they should be; things I need to work on. In my next post I will tell about a recent experience I had along those lines. Until then, be blessed my friends.