When God Doesn't Fix It: Lessons You Never Wanted to Learn, Truths You Can't Live Without

by Laura Story

Am I going to let my circumstances determine my view of God, or am I going to let God determine how I view my circumstances?

I no longer believe the myth that trials are a curse. Trials are an opportunity. They are an invitation to do good works to glorify our Father in heaven, to transform our lives from the inside out, and to drive us into the arms and footsteps of Jesus.

God wants to restore our relationship with him more than anything else. Though he loves us, he’ll allow us to feel the pain of this world’s unhealed hurts if it brings us closer to him.

It’s not what I do. It’s what he does. It is not how strong my faith is. It’s how strong my God is.

It’s never been about how hard I work; it’s always been about how hard God hangs on to me.

the longer I focus on why, the less progress I make.

When I continue to ask why, somewhere deep inside me the repeated questioning and lack of answers feeds a sense of entitlement. When that sense of entitlement grows, it usually leads to bitterness.

“How might my Father’s glory be displayed through this situation?”

sometimes God uses things he hates—things like cancer, divorce, suicide, addiction, death, and more—to accomplish the things he loves. He does this regularly and faithfully. It’s only when we bring our pain to him that we can find our dwelling in him.

I’m not saying you’re more spiritual if you get to how, but I am saying that the why questions will eventually suck you dry, slowly draining the life out of you.

I know this from talking to and observing those who are stuck in the past. They can’t understand why a good, holy God has allowed something bad to happen to them.

We have to come to a point where we say, “I don’t know why my life looks this way. But I don’t have to understand why. It’s enough for me to believe that God has a plan and that he has promised he will never leave or forsake me, and he will be by my side through every trial I face.” I know this counters everything we think we want, but there is freedom in not having all of the answers—especially the answer to why.

would you be willing to sign up for the brokenness in your life, if you knew your brokenness would bring glory to God and enable you to learn to trust him in everything?

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

We have to get our expectations in sync and then find ways to help our spouse succeed.

We need to see marriage not as a union to make us happy but as a union to make us holy.

We were the ones who disappointed God, but he loved us anyway. That’s the kind of love Martin and I needed to demonstrate to each other.

Maybe like me, you have objections to sharing your story. Perhaps you’re afraid it isn’t finished yet, or maybe you’re worried it’s not compelling enough. Or maybe you’re worried, as I was, about others knowing your deep, dark secrets. But telling your story doesn’t have to start with standing on a stage and telling your innermost secrets. It might start with telling your spouse.

Everything in Scripture is there for a reason. God includes David’s lowlights as well as his highlights to demonstrate his power as Redeemer and Restorer. And if every detail and every ingredient in David’s life story is important because it shows God’s power, then doesn’t it stand to reason that every detail of our stories is not only important, but redeemable too?

isolation rarely leads to anything good.

We’re often afraid that sharing our story will lead to isolation. The truth is, not sharing our story leads to isolation.

Joy doesn’t come from our circumstances; it comes from our God. And since God is with us during our trials, it is possible to have joy even in our trials. Joy is in the Lord. Brokenness is in the world. As long as we’re alive, both will coexist on earth.