Why we need difficulty

You may not like what I'm about to say but it's true.  We need trials, adversity, difficulty in order to be useful to God.  Let me explain myself.  When things are going your way how often do you think, "Wow, I've got this under control God.  You sit this one out.  I will let you know when I need you again."  We don't go to Him unless we have struggles.  It keeps us close to God.

2 Corinthians 12:7
even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

The apostle Paul a man who God miraculously converted and writer of 2/3 of the New Testament even needed it.  The verse above tells it all.  He needed a thorn(trial, affliction, ailment, etc) in order to remain humble and therefore used by God.  God doesn't need you to have gifts, talents and abilities but He will use them.  What God wants is for us to realize that He's the one doing the work, giving the gifts, the talents, and the blessings.

Let's keep reading about this thorn and Paul.


8For this thing I sought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest on me

We may be going through a really tough battle but know that God's grace is enough.  He is our strength.  Our lives are not meant to be lived like we did it all and God just happened to show up to take credit for it.  God created the world in which we live as stated in Genesis and the Bible teaches that He formed us in our mother's womb.  So if He's done all that and it's obvious we can't do the things He does...shouldn't we listen to Him and except what He wants to do.

So often we just go to God and say I want, Lord I need, give me this, help me with that...but we don't realize that if we don't go through difficulty and His perfect divine timing we won't learn anything.  What if you got a million dollars today?  But because you have always been bad with money you just blow right through it.  You are left angry, bitter and broke.  On the other hand what if God gave you poverty for years upon years of your life.  A financial situation so bad that you have to scrape, pray and trust God for every penny.  Then later in life God provides a million dollars do you think you would appreciate it and have a better knowledge of how to use that money?

We need to go through things in order to be more useful to God.  He needs to teach us that we need Him!  What good is a life if we don't know how to use it?  If we use it for our glory we have missed the point.  It's for God's glory that we go through things!

God knows what He is doing and He hears your prayers.  You have to put your faith in Him and know He is your strength.