What If God Is Not Rushing to Fix What He Is Using to Form Us

We think God is going to fix it. We think He is going to remove the difficulty. We think He is going to take away the struggle.

But what if He is not? What if the difficulty is the formation?

This is what we forget. We think the difficulty is the problem. But what if it is the process?

What if God is using the difficulty to form us, not to test us?

The Formation We Forget

Turn with me to Romans. Paul is writing about suffering:

Tribulation produces perseverance.

Not: Tribulation produces comfort. Not: Tribulation produces ease.

Tribulation produces perseverance.

That is the formation. The difficulty produces the character. The struggle produces the strength.

This is what we forget. The difficulty is not the problem. It is the process.

And then there is this, from James:

The testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Let perseverance have its perfect work.

That is the formation. The testing produces perseverance. The difficulty produces the perfect work.

This is what we forget. The difficulty is not blocking us. It is building us.

The Patience We Need

And then there is this, from the same chapter:

Let patience have its perfect work.

Not: Let comfort have its perfect work. Not: Let ease have its perfect work.

Let patience have its perfect work.

This is what we need. Patience. Not the removal of the difficulty. The patience to endure it.

And then there is this, from Psalms:

Before I was afflicted I went astray.

The affliction taught. The difficulty instructed. The struggle formed.

This is what we forget. The difficulty is not the enemy. It is the teacher.

The Question That Changes Everything

So what does this mean for us? It means the difficulty might not be removed. It might be the formation.

What if God is not rushing to fix it? What if He is using it?

That is the question. Not: When will He fix it? But: What is He forming in me?

I know what it is to want the difficulty removed. I know what it is to pray for the struggle to end.

But I also know what it is to discover: The difficulty was the formation. The struggle was the process.

This is what we need to remember. Not: Remove the difficulty. But: Form me in it.

What if God is not rushing to fix what He is using to form us?

What if the difficulty is not the problem? What if it is the process?

That is what we need to hear. That is what we need to remember.

We think God is going to fix it. We think He is going to remove the difficulty.

But what if He is not? What if the difficulty is the formation?

This is the question. Not: When will it end? But: What is being formed?

Tribulation produces perseverance. The testing produces patience. The difficulty produces character.

What if God is not rushing to fix what He is using to form us?