“Why do we have to learn math? We’ll never use it in real life!”

Did you ever say something like that to your teachers in school?

It’s true that you may never have used algebra once you graduated from high school. Your knowledge of trigonometry or calculus may have lain dormant since then, too.

But that wasn’t actually the point of algebra, or any other subject.

The point of learning math was to train your brain.

Mastering mathematical concepts increases your problem-solving skills, develops flexible thinking and creativity, and encourages analytical reasoning.

These are things that are extremely valuable in every area of life.

But you might not have been able to see that when you were trying to understand the Pythagorean theorem in school.

That’s because your Training often won’t make sense until much later.

Several heroes in the Bible found this out:

David must have wondered why he had to go through the terrifying experiences of fighting off a lion and a bear when he was tending his father’s sheep.

But later on, David used these skills when he faced a much bigger foe: Goliath. Suddenly, his training made sense: God used his encounters with the wild animals to prepare him for a more important assignment.

Moses must have been mystified that God had him spend 40 years on the backside of the desert looking after his father-in-law’s sheep. Having grown up in the Egyptian court, he thought he was destined for more important things.

But those seemingly “wasted” decades were training him in the ways of the desert. He would need this knowledge to lead the children of Israel for another 40 years as they made their way out of bondage to the Promised Land.

Joseph is another case in point. He had big dreams as a young man, but they came crashing down when his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. Later, he was wrongly accused of a crime and ended up in jail.

But once again, his tragedies were actually his training. Joseph learned administrative skills as a slave managing Potiphar’s household and as a kind of supervisor of other prisoners in the jail. His experiences of twice being in second-in-command positions served him admirably when he was promoted to prime minster of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself.

I think God works the same way in our lives as believers.

In the moment, what you’re going through may be very confusing. Your hardships and disappointments may bewilder you.

But you may be unwittingly learning valuable skills that are preparing you for an important assignment that God has for you down the line. He may be increasing you in maturity, strength, wisdom, perseverance, or humility. He may be equipping you to comfort others as they go through the same things that you have.

It’s very difficult for us to recognize this during the process, however. Our training often won’t make sense until we finally get our assignment.

Just as strength training for our muscles enables us to be more effective at a wide range of activities, God uses the difficulties we endure in life to multiply our strength and endurance and to equip us for exponentially bigger and better things.

Just leave the math to Him!

© 2023 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.