I’ve been cursed—I mean blessed—with three babies that were lousy sleepers.  My oldest two boys have outgrown this, but my youngest at 15 months still doesn’t sleep well.  Normally, my husband and I take turns getting up with him through the night.  Recently, though, my boys and I went to visit my parents for two weeks while my husband stayed home.  This meant that I had to get up with the baby.  EVERY.  SINGLE.  TIME.  I admit after many nights of getting up three or four times in one night, or after several nights of being up for over two hours at a time, I found myself getting frustrated—a little bit with my baby boy, but mostly with God.  After all, my son couldn’t help it that he couldn’t sleep, and I certainly couldn’t make him sleep.  God does have the power to make him sleep, though.  I would plead with God for that very thing, but every time God said, “No.”  I struggled with that a lot, but then I realized that I was asking God the wrong question.

If you struggle with God’s answer, maybe you’re asking the wrong question.

You see, I was asking God to change my circumstances by allowing my son to sleep.  However, God never promises to change our circumstances.  In fact, God uses our tough times to help us grow and become more like Christ (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).   Rather than asking God to change my situation, I should have been asking God to use my situation to change me.  My sleepless nights are perfect opportunities to pray or work on memorizing Scripture.  They also help me to grow in patience.  It’s all in how I look at it. 

Have you ever seen the optical illusion that’s either an ugly, old woman or a beautiful, young woman depending on how you look at it?  Life is the same at that illusion.  We can look at our circumstances and see the ugliness, or we can look for the beauty.  Unfortunately, it’s often easier to find the ugliness.  We have to work at seeing the beauty. 

This was something that Paul learned well.  He writes in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 that he had a thorn in his flesh.  We don’t exactly what that was.  Some believe it was poor eyesight, but whatever this thorn was, Paul asked God three times to remove it.  Each time, however, God said, “No.”  Paul had a choice at this point.  He could choose to focus on the ugly thorn, or he could choose to find the beauty in his situation.  Paul looked for the good, and he realized that his weakness gave God the opportunity to show off His power.  Paul chose to rejoice in his weakness. 

God doesn’t promise to change the situation, but He does promise to give us what we need to get through the situation.

We have the same choice as Paul.  We all have tough times.  Maybe you just got bad news from the doctor.  Maybe you’re dealing with a broken relationship.  Maybe you don’t know how you’re going to make ends meet this month.  Whatever your situation, it’s ok to pray that God will change things for you.  God may say, “Yes.”  However, if you don’t like the answer God gives you—if He says, “No”—then you may need to change the question.  God doesn’t promise to change the situation, but He does promise to give us what we need to get through our tough times. Look to the promises of Scripture, and pray those back to God.  Ask God to give you strength to help you through the situation (Philippians 4:13).  Ask God to bring some good out of your trial (Romans 8:28).   Ask God to comfort you so that you can comfort others in the same situation (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).  Ask God what He wants you to learn or how He wants you to grow in the midst of your trial. 

I really don’t like the sleepless nights, but I know I can learn a lot from them.  I can choose to look for the beauty in my situation, and I can choose to trust God’s plan.  God’s plan is always good, even though it’s not always easy.  It is always worth it in the end.  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).  “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

How has God been there for you in your tough times? Leave a comment below!

You might be encouraged by reading how God helped other women through their tough times. Check out these other posts:

Corrie Ten Boom-Her Faithful Life (Part 1)

Corrie Ten Boom-Her Faithful Life (Part 2)

Amy Carmichael-Her Surrendered Life