It Had To Happen

Whenever something unforeseen happens in my life, I tend to question God first (just being transparent here).

“Why is this happening to me, God?”

But the cold, hard trust is: sometimes our decisions put us in positions of compromise that lead to consequences we are not ready or willing to accept. Most of us are unwilling to be held accountable for our actions. So much so, we get stuck in the “why” of things.

“Why are you not protecting me, God?” “If I’m your child, this shouldn’t be happening to me.”

Sometimes I’ve been stuck in the “why” for so long that I completely miss the lesson that emerges from the mess (this is how we repeat mistakes, btw). This leads to frustration with self.

“If I never said these things, none of this would have happened.”

After that, remorse.

“Please God, if you get me out of this I’ll never do it again.”

We’ve all been there. But what I’m learning is though some mistakes are certainly avoidable, not all are inevitable. What I mean by that is, while there are some mistakes you won’t make, there are some mistakes that’ll land you in the same exact place. And guess what? You’re supposed to be there, regardless of how you got there.

On the inverse, not everything that happens to you is a direct reflection of a mistake you made. Sometimes God will use someone else’s mistake to teach you a lesson. And other times, the things you go through are directly connected to the things you’ve done right! At the end of the day, whether it was your mistake or someone else’s, your storm should always serve as a teachable moment that results in revelation.

How many of you find yourselves saying “not today, satan” or “this ain’t nothing but the devil”? I know I do. But y’all, sometimes it ain’t the devil. Sometimes it’s God’s redirection after we’ve chosen to ignore his voice and the signs he’s given us.

Everything that is going to happen to you has to pass through God to come to fruition. Yes, every bad thing too. There is nothing that will happen to you that catches God by surprise. It’s is either God-ordained or God-allowed.

So you’re here, in the middle of a mistake and a miracle. After realizing that the “why” isn’t important and after finding peace in knowing that this was either God-ordained or allowed, how do you reach the other end? First you need to ask yourself if you will allow misery to overcome or if you’re going to turn your hardship into a mission to find the lesson God has intended for you to learn.

I’ll take the mission for 500, Alex!

Things that we know to be true about growing through life are this: there will be times where it will hurt, it will be difficult, and throwing in the towel will seem a lot easier.

You’ll know you’ve made it through to the other side of your lesson when you no longer get hung up and defensive in the “why” and most importantly, when you can acknowledge that God used this moment to process and progress you.

Remember, it had to happen.

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