12 Encouraging Lessons From God We All Need to Learn

Have you ever stepped back and thought about all the lessons God has taught you?  

This is an important thing to do.  

Because when we sit back and remember what we have learned.  

It can have a greater impact on our future.  

Some of these lessons I share here are new to me. Some I am learning more about. And some I have been reminded of.  

(And will probably need to be reminded of again!)   

As you read through these simple lessons from the Bible, I hope they will inspire you to come up with your own list of lessons God has taught you. Or is currently teaching you.  

Because God is always teaching us something.  

What lessons can we learn from God?

The life lessons we learn from God not only change our hearts but can also change the entire trajectory of our lives.  

And while it’s not always fun to take a good look in the mirror, what we learn from God helps us to change and grow.    

The following 12 encouraging lessons from the Bible can teach us a lot about faith in God, ourselves, and how to live for Him.  

Lessons from God #1: God will ask me to do more than I can. So, I learn to lean on Him.

I have heard the saying God never gives us more than we can handle. But that simply isn’t true.  

In my life, I have found that He often DOES give me more than I can handle so I have no choice but to lean on His strength to get through.   

In fact, over this past year, God has asked me to do some things that were really hard. 

They stretched me. They pushed me out of my comfort zone.

And to be honest, they completely terrified me at the time.   

But I did what God asked me to.

And you know what?  

I ended up being grateful for the opportunities in the end.

I didn’t do it all perfectly. But I found that God used even my mistakes and imperfections to bring Him glory.   

So, is God asking you to do something scary?   

Remember God is on your side. And He will be with you every step of the way.  

This hard thing He is asking of you will force you to rely on His strength in your weakness.

And being wrapped up in the arms of His strength is an amazing place to be.   

Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath, say a prayer, and do it scared.   

After all, the only thing worse than facing your fears is living with regret! 

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

-Philippians 4:13 ESV

Lessons from God #2: Being authentic is more important than being perfect.

People don’t want to see perfect Christians.  

They want to see REAL Christians living REAL lives they can relate to.   

No one can be perfect anyway.

So, let’s stop striving for perfection and embrace being authentic.   

And maybe just by sharing our struggles, we will in turn give someone the courage to share their own.   

Lessons from God #3: The most powerful way to help someone is to pray for them.

Sometimes we throw our hands up and say, “I guess all I can do is pray.” And yet, if we really stop to think about it prayer is the most powerful thing we can do.   

After all, prayer unleashes all the power of heaven!

We may look around us and not see anything happening. But our prayers are doing massive damage against the dark forces spiritually.   

All of hell shudders when we begin to pray and cry out in Jesus’s name.   

What lessons can we learn from Jesus?

These life lessons taught by Jesus help us to learn from His life here on Earth. To follow His example so we can live a life of faith.  

Lessons from Jesus #4: I shouldn’t care so much about what other people think.

I know. I know. 

This lesson is a familiar one. And yet it is one I keep having to remind myself of.

Over and over again.   

I don’t know about you but I am a chronic people-pleaser. I just want to keep the peace and please everybody.   

But I’m not chocolate.   

And you’re not chocolate.   

So, the chances of us being able to make everybody happy are pretty slim!   

A better purpose for us is to live for what God thinks. After all, as long as I am trying to love Him and others, God will be pleased even if people aren’t. 

Just look at Jesus.   

Everything He did was out of love for His Father and for us, and in the end that got Him crucified. And yet, His crucifixion was also the very PROOF of His amazing love for us.   

In this life, not everyone will like us. Some people will attack us and ridicule us. Some may even hate us.  

But that doesn’t matter.   

As long as we are loving God and loving people then in God’s eyes . . . we are a success.    

And the more I care about what my God thinks of me, the less concerned I am with what people think of me.  (1 Cor. 4:3) 

Lessons from Jesus #5: Failure is a part of success.

I am a perfectionist. If I can’t do it perfectly, I am very tempted to just not do it.  

Which doesn’t fair well for finding success in life.   

But what God is teaching me lately is that He can use failure for good.   

Think about it.   

• The sailors on the boat were moved to worship God because of Jonah’s failure. (Jonah 1:16) 
• The Samaritan woman at the well had 5 failed marriages. And Jesus used her to preach to an entire village. (John 4:39) 

There is always forgiveness and a chance to try again because of Jesus.  

Jesus can use our mistakes and failures to remind people that they are never too far gone to be saved by His love.  

And that He can use anyone for the good of His Kingdom.   

So now, instead of asking God to help everything I do go smoothly; I ask Him to use it all for His glory.   

Because if a mistake I make or a failure I experience can help someone else find Jesus, then failing is totally worth it.  

Lessons from Jesus #6: Sometimes acting in faith means getting out of the way.

I am a fixer. I love to figure things out and come up with solutions. But I am learning that sometimes there is really nothing you can do.   

• Not everyone wants to accept our help.
• Not everyone is going to follow our advice.
• Not everyone even wants to fix their situation.  

So, sometimes we have to learn to walk away.   

This is a lesson we can learn from Jesus because . . . Jesus didn’t heal everyone.   

Not everyone wanted his help. And so, He left them alone.  

We can do what we can. Which is love them and pray for them. But then we may just need to get out of God’s way.   

While having faith that God is working in ways we cannot see.

Lessons from Jesus #7: God encourages self-care. So that we can care for others.

Jesus was God. He was the only perfect, sinless human to ever walk on this planet. And yet He still made time for self-care.   

• He took breaks.   
• He took naps.   
• He made time to eat.   
• He woke up early to pray and feed His soul.   

If the Creator of the universe took the time to care for himself, why do we think we won’t need to?

When we care for ourselves, we ensure that we have enough to give to others around us.   

Because we can’t pour from an empty cup! 

When we take the time to fill our cup up . . . God can pour us out as a blessing to others. 

Life Lessons about Faith in God

These life lessons about faith in God help us to trust Him even when life gets hard.

Lessons from God # 8: I can actively wait on God in faith.

I have always struggled with waiting.

Then I learned about the Hebrew word for wait which is “qavah”.

It can be translated as “waiting in hopeful anticipation”.

While in our society we view waiting as something passive like waiting in the check-out line, this Hebrew word for wait means to wait actively.   

For example, I have prayed for many years for my body to be healed of a chronic illness. But I don’t have to just sit around and wait for God to divinely heal me.   

I can be active as I wait.   

I can go to doctor’s appointments. I can research new therapies. I can take my meds, exercise, get good sleep, etc.  

Thfter I do what I can, I can wait in hopeful anticipation of what God is going to do in my life. 

I can have faith that God knows what is best for me.   

Even if that means I have to wait until eternity for my complete healing.   

We can have hope as we actively wait on God to answer our prayers.  

Lessons from God #9: Faith means living for the Holy Spirit over hustle.

Living for the Holy Spirit is more important than hustling.  

My problem is I often look to my crossed-off to-do list showing all my accomplishments in an attempt to prove my worth.   

But my true worth is found in God.   

What I am learning is that what matters more than hustling is spending time in the presence of the Holy Spirit.  

Because without Him, my hustle will fall short every time.   

But with Him, I can do anything. (Phil. 4:13) 

What does God teach us in the Bible?

There are some good lessons in the Bible when we take the time to read it.  

Lessons we can learn from God about who He is, what He can do, and what He calls us to do.     

Lessons from God #10: I learned that God will take our pain and use it for something great.

This was a hard lesson to learn. It took a lot of tears and a lot of years.

But looking back on my life I can see how even the hard moments were used by God for good.

He took the painful experiences of bullying from my high school years to grow compassion and empathy in my heart. And a love for encouraging others.  

He took a heart-wrenching miscarriage to show me His amazing comfort in the middle of devastating loss. And to give me a heart for those who are suffering.   

He has taken my life with a chronic illness and used it to show others that there is always hope for the broken. That God is our strength when we are weak. And to keep our eyes focused on eternity.  

God can take our pain and turn it into something great!

Lessons from God #11: Our God does not divide . . . He multiplies!

Since I struggle with doing too much, I also struggle with sitting still.   

I have a really hard time trying to focus when I read my bible and pray.

My to-do list calls to me. My mind chases after every sort of distraction. And my heart likes to daydream.   

And yet sitting still is exactly what will multiply my effectiveness when I do get up and go about my day.   

I heard it described once that if God can multiply 5 loaves and two fish to feed over 5,000 people, then He can take the time we give Him in the morning and multiply our effectiveness to make up for it.   

God promises that if we seek Him first.   

Everything else will fall into place.   

Our God doesn’t divide, He multiplies. 

Lessons from God #12: God wants us to think more about eternity.

As I get older, I find myself thinking more and more about eternity.  

I am realizing how much time and money I spend on this one life that is quickly fading away.

And how little I spend on things of eternal significance.   

And it bothers me.   

These moments inspire me to stop worrying about the nit-picky things that irritate me.

And focus on the things that are most important. 

Like spending less time cleaning the house, and more time loving on the people living there.   

Like thinking carefully about the way I spend my time and money.  

And looking for opportunities to invest in the things that really matter.

Like loving others and telling them about Jesus.   

Lessons Learned from God

We can learn lessons from God every day if we simply spend time with Him and pay attention.  

And by allowing God to teach us new things, we can change, grow, and influence those around us for good.  

Every day. In every way.

These lessons from God can inspire us. Encourage us.

And change us from the inside out.  

If you found this encouraging, then please share! 

You may also want to read:

• What to Do When You Are Waiting on God
• Can We Mess Things Up For God?
• How to R.E.S.T. in God