LINWTL Introduction

Whatever your LINWTLs your Lessons I Never Wanted To Learn know that God never gives us burdens without sufficient grace, and that we can always trust Him with the outcome. Before I formally introduce my subject, let me hasten to say that while resistance is my natural response, I know that multitudes of people in our day and throughout the world’s history have also struggled with the same kinds of issues. It is somewhat comforting to know that my experience in this area puts me in company with giants in many walks of life and from every era and every culture. But, because a right understanding of this can create such profound men and women, it also, of course, has the potential to defeat and destroy. Alas, many people with tremendous potential have been sidetracked, wounded, and left in failure and obscurity because they responded wrongly when confronted by LINWTL.

In this column, my primary concern is religious; you’re reading this under the “religion” section of the web site. Specifically, as regular readers know, my emphasis is Christian or Biblical truth that is applicable to daily life. But this subject, perhaps more than most, must be understood by those in every walk of life, and affects us whether Christian or not in every worthwhile endeavor. While my examples below will be taken from Scripture and encourage men and women to become spiritual giants; anyone in any role professional, sportsman, business woman, laborer will also be confronted with LINWTL.

Everyone who has ever attended Sunday School or Vacation Bible School can name some of the heroes of our Christian faith. Men like Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel; women like Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, or Jesus’ mother, Mary. Each of these owes their place in God’s honor roll and our knowledge of them as our spiritual examples to their own LINWTL. And because the Bible is always honest, we are clearly told of the fear, resistance, questions, and reluctance that these spiritual champions often experienced or expressed when confronted with a LINWTL. But we also see that, as men and women become more spiritually mature, they lose much of the fear and trepidation they would otherwise have when dealing with a LINWTL as they grow in their relationship with and confidence in their Heavenly Father.

You, dear reader, may in fact be struggling with your own LINWTL just now. But take heart! Those I’ve named above and thousands beside have have grown to become mighty in faith through LINWTLs, and you can as well. The real, heavenly purpose of LINWTLs is just that! A wise and loving Heavenly Father carefully chooses just the LINWTL that is perfectly designed to help you become precisely what He wants you to be.

Some of my LINWTLs have come through family and close friends, and have to do with conflict, divorce, addiction, and financial struggles, all of which, of course, have a bearing on faith. In the Scriptures, Abraham was asked to sacrifice a son, Joseph learned integrity as a slave and prisoner, Mary was thought to be immoral. But each of these LINWTLs was an opportunity to grow stonger, more confident, more trusting in a relationship with the Heavenly Father.

Our Father has promised that everything He allows is only for our good; it is designed to make us better and stronger. That’s what lessons are for.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 (NLT)