Some days I can’t imagine why God would want me to be struggling so much. Why can’t I land that job, or have the perfect relationship, or get a winning season out of the Pittsburgh Pirates?

The truth is, God sometimes allows disappointment. And a lot of those disappointments happen when we go from dreaming about things to actually taking action. It’s in that moment we’re confronted with a choice – do we give up or press on? Do we trust what God has promised us? Or do we give up and walk away?

If God always made everything work out perfectly, we would never have a reason to choose him. We’d simply be choosing the path of least resistance. And while that may be fine for running water, it makes for lousy humans.

This is one of the crazy things about God – he doesn’t always play by our rules. Just like God’s primary goal isn’t our happiness, his primary goal isn’t how easy our lives are. There’s a reason Paul describes spiritual growth in terms of training saying, “train yourselves in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Being disappointed isn’t a punishment. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. Instead it can be the opportunity to change our perspective. It can allow us to flip our understanding of success. Fighting our way through a challenge, relying on God’s strength when we’re exhausted, trusting that God will deliver on his promises – all those things help move us closer to God. Which is always a good thing.