Most of us have felt at some time—and if you haven’t there’ll likely come a time when you do—that God is doing a number on us. When hard things come our way, we wonder why God didn’t step in and make everything better. Why didn’t He put a stop to it before we had to experience the pain and suffering?

He could have made it better…and He didn’t.

He could have changed it…and He didn’t.

He could have fixed it…and He didn’t.

When this happens, we can become disappointed with God and wonder if He really cares about us. And honestly, the pain feels like it is killing us.

Honestly, the pain feels like it is killing us.

In just the last twenty-four hours, I’ve talked with five people who said they felt like they were dying. They were unraveling emotionally. Their circumstances were desperate. They were hurting. And in each case, God seemed nowhere to be found.

Why does God allow this to happen? In 2 Corinthians 1:9 Paul answers this question when he writes, “Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.” God lets us go through these challenging circumstances because He wants to change our focus. He wants us to learn to trust.

He’s making us stronger by teaching us to trust in Him.

As we trust in Him, we’ll get a fresh new perspective on the things we are going through. They may still feel challenging, but we can be assured that God is allowing them so we can learn to trust Him more. We may struggle, but we can know that He is with us, even when He feels far away. God isn’t killing us. He’s making us stronger by teaching us to trust in Him.

Check out more from Dr. Tony Evans @tonyevans.org