Jackson brought a box into the living room, and dumped all of the contents out with the intentions of building a fort that morning. After putting a few pieces together, he started getting frustrated. The angles weren’t just right, and the braces wouldn’t stay without a good bit of effort.

Mom, will you help me do this?

Of course, I would love to help him build his fort! We had worked together on several different designs before. But, I knew he could do this on his own. He had the problem-solving skills to piece it together. He just needed to exercise the patience it would take to complete it.

So, I encouraged my son to figure it out.

That wasn’t what he was expecting me to say. In fact, Jackson was frustrated with me at first. So, I gave him the space he needed to realize building his fortress was worth the work.

God often challenges us in the same way. He invites us to build right by His side. Then, He hands us the hammer, and lets us try on our own. He shows us how, then gives us hands-on opportunities to put His principles into action.

We will probably not get it at first. We may become frustrated, and ask God to bail us out or do it for us. God doesn’t always give us the answer. In some situations, He loves us too much to intervene.

God doesn’t have to give us the shortcut or fix every problem we face. Sometimes He allows us to figure it out. With the Bible as our guide, God wants us to step out in faith and put into practice what we’ve learned. We may make mistakes. We might not have instant success. Things probably won’t turn out exactly like we thought they would. But along the way, we learn lessons about perseverance, humility, gratitude and how great God really is. Through the challenges, we grow.

Jackson decided to keep building. With some trial and error, the pieces came together. He stuck with it. He persevered.

When he was close to finishing, my son called me back into the room to watch. The last piece went into place, and Jackson leaped into the air with his arms outstretched. He did it! He was so excited!! We celebrated his accomplishment together with high fives and hugs. 🙂

Today, stay close to God and keep going, keep trying. Listen to God in prayer and through His Word, then actively obey. Persevere!

And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
– Romans 5:4