Believe it or not

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. (Philippians 3:12)

 Life is often likened to going to school, and that can serve as a good analogy. God allows all sorts of things in our lives to test us, to see how we’ll react to them, to teach us lessons, and to help us to grow spiritually. His purpose, of course, is that we’ll benefit from what we experience, apply ourselves, take the lessons to heart, learn from them, and live up to our full potential.
 In short, life’s tests are designed by Him to help us to become the people He wants to make us and knows we can be.
 One of the things that God uses to bring us along, believe it or not, is our weaknesses. Everyone has their share of weaknesses. God allows them for different reasons, according to what He knows we need and will bring about the greatest good in our lives.
 Among other things, they teach us humility, patience, compassion, and other virtues; they teach us the power of prayer, which helps us to live closer to God and become more dependent on Him; and they help us to better understand others, thereby putting us in a better position to empathize and help them through their problems and tests.
 Our weaknesses are meant to help us, and they do every time we learn from them and draw near to Him through them. —Maria Fontaine [1]

 God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

[1] Anchor Passing Grades in God’s School