Why does God allow hard things in my life?

Some hard things are easier to understand. Sometimes you know the hard things you are experiencing are the result of wrong choices you have made. You knew better, but you still did the wrong thing, and you know the hard things you are now facing are the result of those wrong choices. It is still hard, but you know that if you will make right choices the next time, you will avoid those hard consequences. But sometimes you are really trying to do the right thing. You have done your best, and it just didn’t work. Why did God let that thing fall apart? Why didn’t He protect you from that hurt? Why did He let your effort fail? Especially since you are trying to serve Him?

In Psalm 60, David was facing that kind of hard thing. He was fighting the enemies of God, yet he was being defeated. David was struggling as he realized God not only was allowing these hard things in his life, but in some cases God was actually causing those hard things!  (verses 1-3). That is tough to handle! But then God showed him (and through this psalm, God is showing us) that our hard things are actually God’s banner of love (verses 4-6), pointing us to a place in Him and with Him that is so much better than the “maybe just ok” place we were before! The hard things God allows are God’s banner, reminding that He is there, and helping us find our way to Him – to His plan, His protection, and His victory. God has something special for you that is impossible to experience and appreciate without the hard things, and He is good enough to make experiencing those hard things worth it.