John 16:33b | Proverbs 26:11 | 2 Peter 2:20 | 1 Corinthians 13:11 | Job 2:10b
“I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson here.”
It’s no secret that everyone has hard times. Jesus assures we will have many.
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33b NLT
And not only can we take comfort in knowing that He overcame the world, we can also learn from our tough experiences. How silly would it be not to learn from them?
Like a dog that returns to its vomit, So is a fool who repeats his foolishness.
Proverbs 26:11 NASB
Yuck! What a graphic–and gross–way to say, “Learn from your stinkin’ mistakes!” If you don’t, you will end up worse than when you started.
And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.
2 Peter 2:20 NLT
Learning from difficulties is part of growing up. When something disagreeable happens to a child, they cry, whine, and/or complain.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”
1 Corinthians 13:11 NLT
Wise adults have given up on crying, whining, and/or complaining about their troubles. They have learned that those ways don’t solve any of their problems. They accept that they will have bad times as well as good times.
“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
Job 2:10b NLT
So–pardon us for being blunt, but–quit your cryin’ and start learning! Things are tough all over. If you want to be tough all over, too, learn from your experiences.
Questions for Group Discussion
- How does it help you to catalog the lessons you have learned from a tough experience?
- Have you ever had a difficult situation that you did not learn from? If so, why…or how?
Challenge: You Win Some, You Learn Some
Let’s get down to business. We’ve been talking about learning from our experiences, and you have seen plenty of examples of this from The Superbook Show hosts in not one, but two episodes.
Now it’s time for you to say what you have learned. Except this is a challenge–so it should be challenging. That’s why, to complete this challenge, you will need to write down lessons learned from not one…not two…but three difficult times you have faced in your life.
The hosts came up with one lesson they each learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. You should start there.
Then choose two more hard experiences you have had and come up with a lesson for each of them.
BONUS: Share the lessons with a friend.
DOUBLE POINTS: Have the friend complete the challenge, as well.
