Easy Things Don’t Change You

By: Wendy Morris

Have you ever looked back and really thought about what changed you?

Not what made you comfortable.
Not what went according to plan.
Not the seasons when everything seemed easy.

What actually changed you?

For me, some of the most challenging and painful seasons of my life are where I discovered who I was—and who I was becoming.

I certainly didn’t understand it while I was going through it. There were days that were absolutely miserable. My family could tell you that. There are still specific moments I can remember so vividly that, if I allow myself to sit there too long, I can almost feel the emotions all over again.

But I don’t look back because I want to relive them.

I look back because I want to remember what God brought me through.

There is a difference.

Looking back can keep us attached to our pain, or it can give us perspective. I don’t need to return emotionally to those places to prove that they happened. I simply need to remember where I was, what God taught me there, and Who brought me out.

The Wilderness Taught Me Dependence

Looking back now, I can see that God was showing me things about myself during those difficult seasons.

Things I probably wouldn’t have learned when life was easy.

He exposed areas that needed healing. He showed me things I needed to surrender. He revealed where I was depending on myself instead of depending on Him. And although some of that process was incredibly painful, it was necessary to mold me into more of who He says I am.

Deuteronomy 8 talks about remembering the wilderness. God didn’t want His people to remain there. He wanted them to remember what they learned there.

I understand that differently now.

Some seasons aren’t meant to become our permanent address. They’re meant to teach us something we carry with us when we leave.

My wilderness taught me that I didn’t have enough strength on my own.

I needed God.

Completely.

There were times when I wondered where He was. There were moments when it felt like maybe He had left me. But looking back, I can honestly say:

He never did.

Sometimes He gave me more strength.

Sometimes He gave me courage.

Sometimes He gave me peace that didn’t make sense considering what was happening around me.

And sometimes He placed exactly the right person in my path—someone who mentored me, encouraged me, spoke truth to me, or gave me exactly what I needed during that particular season.

God didn’t always change my circumstances when I wanted Him to.

Sometimes He changed me in the circumstances.

And that may have been the greater miracle.

I Don’t Want to Learn the Same Lesson Twice

There are places in my life I never want to return to.

Not because I’m afraid of my past, but because I know what it cost me.

I know what God brought me through.

I know what certain decisions did to my peace.

I know what happens when I take my eyes off God and start convincing myself that my way might work just as well.

Because I’ve challenged that one too.

I’ve wanted what I wanted.

I’ve justified things.

I’ve tried to tweak Scripture to make something fit what I wanted to do.

I’ve reasoned with myself.

What’s really wrong with it?

It’s just a little compromise.

Just a little temptation here.

Just a little there.

But temptation rarely walks into our lives announcing:

“I’m here to completely derail you.”

It’s usually much quieter than that.

Just this once.

It’s really not that serious.

Everybody does it.

God understands.

And yes, God does understand our humanity.

Yes, there is grace.

Yes, there is forgiveness.

Thank God for all of it.

But grace isn’t permission to continually choose something we already know God has asked us to surrender.

Romans 6:1–2 reminds us that grace was never intended to become an excuse to continue deliberately in sin.

At some point, obedience requires us to stop asking how close we can get to the line and start asking:

Does this honor God?

Temptation Is Real

I’ve learned that growth isn’t only tested during the huge crises of life.

Sometimes it’s tested afterward.

Quietly.

When no one else knows.

When you have the opportunity to return to something God already showed you wasn’t good for you.

That’s when the questions become different.

Will I go back to what God already delivered me from?

Will I justify something simply because I want it?

Will I bend Scripture around my desires, or will I surrender my desires to Scripture?

Do I actually believe God’s way is better when His way isn’t the easiest way?

That’s where spiritual maturity starts getting real.

The hard season teaches us who God is.

The temptation afterward reveals whether we believe Him.

His Way Is Better Than Mine

I’ve tried doing things my way.

I’ve justified my way.

I’ve tried convincing myself that something wasn’t really that bad.

I’ve even tried making my way sound a little more like God’s way so I could feel better about choosing it.

And do you know what I’ve discovered?

His way is still better.

Every time.

God gives us free will, but our choices still have consequences. We can choose something outside of what God desires for us and then wonder why we don’t have the peace we expected it to bring.

Something outside God’s will may satisfy us temporarily, but temporary satisfaction and lasting peace are two very different things.

I’ve lived enough life now to know that I don’t want something badly enough to continually sacrifice my peace, my growth, my relationship with God, or the person He has worked so hard to shape me into.

That doesn’t mean I’ll never struggle.

It doesn’t mean temptation disappears.

It doesn’t mean I’ll always get everything right.

It means when I don’t, I know where to return.

Back to Him.

Remember, But Don’t Move Back In

I don’t want to live in my past.

I don’t want to replay painful moments until I feel everything I felt then.

When my mind starts going there, sometimes I have to change my thoughts quickly and remind myself:

I’m not there anymore.

God brought me through it.

But I do want to remember.

I want to remember the prayers I thought weren’t being answered.

I want to remember the days I didn’t think I had enough strength.

I want to remember the people God sent at exactly the right time.

I want to remember the peace that showed up when my circumstances hadn’t changed.

I want to remember the woman I was and recognize the woman God has been molding me into.

Because sometimes we need to look back—not to go backward, but to recognize just how far God has brought us.

Easy things don’t always change us.

Sometimes it’s the wilderness.

Sometimes it’s heartbreak.

Sometimes it’s disappointment.

Sometimes it’s surrender.

Sometimes it’s resisting the temptation to return to something familiar simply because familiar feels easier than obedience.

And sometimes it’s finally admitting:

“God, I’ve tried my way. Your way is better.”

I don’t know what challenges are ahead of me, and I don’t expect to get everything right.

But I know something today that I didn’t always understand:

I don’t have to be strong enough on my own.

I never was.

God was my strength then.

He’s my strength now.

And when I look back over everything He’s already carried me through, I have every reason to trust Him with where He’s leading me next.

Reflection Questions

• What difficult season changed you the most, and what did God teach you through it?
• Are you remembering your past to recognize God’s faithfulness, or are you allowing yourself to emotionally live there again?
• Is there something God has already shown you isn’t good for you that you’re being tempted to return to?
• Are you surrendering your desires to Scripture, or trying to make Scripture fit your desires?
• Where might God be asking you to choose obedience over temporary satisfaction?
• When you look back over your life, where can you clearly see that God never left you?

Closing Prayer

Lord, thank You for never leaving me, even in the seasons when I couldn’t see what You were doing. Thank You for the strength, grace, people, and peace You provided exactly when I needed them. Help me remember where You’ve brought me from without returning to the places You’ve called me out of. Give me wisdom when I’m tempted, conviction when I begin to compromise, and courage to choose Your way over mine. Continue molding me into who You created me to be. I know now that I don’t have to do this in my own strength. Your way is better, and I choose to trust You.

Amen.

—Wendy