For many young people, September marked the first full month of a new school year—another year of wringing knowledge from study, skills from hard work.
That kind of learning and development isn’t just for scholars. In life as in school, we grow when we handle challenges well.
Growth gleaned from challenges is a persistent theme in my memoir, Just Megan: A Story of Grace and Resilience in the Face of the Unknown. A lifelong lover of learning who has dealt with a myriad of life challenges, I’ve found that adversity can become a highly effective classroom if we let it.
Here are nine insights, drawn from my story, for making the most of your own challenges and transforming struggles into growth.
1. Choose your response wisely.
None of us chooses our abilities—but we can all choose our attitudes and what we do with what we have. (76)
The emotional storm that often accompanies a challenge can be overwhelming. But with every adversity, we have a choice in how we respond.
So, instead of fretting over what you lack, ask yourself what abilities and resources you do have. Instead of letting bitterness or frustration dictate your actions, find ways to exercise gratitude, courage, and joy.
That choice isn’t always easy. It doesn’t make the problems go away. But it’s worth it.
2. Own your actions.
Failure isn’t the worst enemy of self-confidence. More damage happens when you depend on others to think for you when you could think for yourself. (122)
No one likes making a choice that proves wrong or an attempt that goes south. But we needn’t fear failure so much that we hide from hard decisions. In fact, we glean a lot more from our mistakes (and successes) when we take responsibility for our choices.
So, when facing a decision, gather the knowledge and resources you need. Seek advice. Ask good questions. Get support. Then prayerfully make your decision.
Learn from the outcome, apologize and repent when needed, and give thanks in all circumstances. Above all, trust that God can redeem your mistakes, get you through anything you face, and work all things together for the good of those who love Him.
3. Base your courage on Who is with you.
I learned to watch out for my body, acknowledge its limits, and give it what it needed to heal. But I also learned to live as though deliverance was right around the corner. To live like my Deliverer was already here—because He was, and always would be. (134)
When confronted with unwelcome circumstances, we often struggle to balance our hopes and present realities. Should we submit to our difficulties or defy them with everything in us?
In my experience, there’s a third, better option: Look to the God who occupies your present and your future.
Instead of either abandoning hope or staking it on circumstances, we can rest in the certainty that God is working in our present and will bring about a good eternity. We can make it through our struggles because, regardless of our circumstances, He’s with us and always will be. His love, His goodness, His power—they never waver. He sees, hears, knows, understands, and cares.
Take time every day to grow closer to Him. Study His Word, the Bible. Pray about everything you face, and everything you feel. Live by His principles. Request and follow His guidance. Praise Him for His goodness. And thank Him for always being there for you.
4. Hold your agenda loosely.
I learned that sometimes the best fix for a dead end or a bad day was to dump my agenda in favor of something easy and fun—or call it a session and try again later. (142–143)
When we have a problem to solve or a mission to complete, it’s easy to fixate on how we think things should go. And more often than not, our plans fall apart.
When that happens, sometimes the best way to get through the sticky situation is to adapt.
When something wrecks your plans or defies your control,, take a moment to breathe, pray, and think. Ask God to show you what the situation needs. Let Him guide you through the difficulty, even when His way looks different from yours. And trust Him with the outcome.
Remember: God doesn’t expect you to make everything happen or figure everything out. That’s His job. All He asks is for you to give Him what you’ve got and follow where He leads. As you trust and obey Him, He’ll take care of the outcome. And He’ll take care of you.
5. Treasure the gift of correction.
My professor expected enough of me to acknowledge when I fell short. He assumed I possessed the maturity to handle correction and trusted I’d use the experience to improve. (157)
Correction hurts. But beyond the discomfort lies the opportunity for growth. When someone or something sets us straight, we get to choose whether to sink into bitterness or to climb to a better path than the one we’ve been on.
Choose to climb. Acknowledge your error. If you’ve wronged someone, ask for forgiveness. Then turn and pursue what’s right.
Ask God to guide and aid you. And thank Him for new beginnings—and the corrections that bring them about.
6. Accept the blessing of help.
Asking for help can be just as much a blessing as extending it. (159)
Admitting we need help can feel like a loss—a surrender of our pride, a letting-go of the notion of self-sufficiency. But it can also be a gain, both to us and to others.
When we seek help in our need, we open the door to whatever provision God has for us. We also open the door to connection with others. Our need turns into an opportunity to practice the kind of community we were created for, where people serve, give, pray, welcome, nurture, and give thanks.
So when you need help, ask for it. Go to God first, requesting His provision and thanking Him for His care. If you’re unsure where to turn next, ask Him to show you. Then ask!
7. Work with your limits.
I could draw my line without judgment or surrender and come back to fight more later when I was ready, as many times as it took … . And I now knew everyone was cheering me on. (176)
In our fight for progress, sometimes we’re tempted to ignore our limitations, as though acknowledging them means surrendering to weakness. But it’s possible to both pursue progress and respect our current inabilities. The key is learning to navigate our limits such that we challenge ourselves but not endanger ourselves.
So identify your limits. Prayerfully use that knowledge to plan and set goals. When you find yourself struggling, rest until you’re ready to press forward again.
Ask God for wisdom regarding when to press and when to rest. And when you feel limited, trust Him to take care of you.
8. Accept that God has a purpose—even when you don’t know what it is.
Whatever He gives has a purpose. (190)
In the throes of hardship, we might wonder if any good could ever come out of our struggles. But the Bible assures us that all things, no matter how awful, work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28).
When you feel lost in the face of suffering or difficulty, ask God what He wants you to do with what He’s given you. Ask Him what He’d like you to learn. When in doubt, keep clinging to His truths and doing what you know is right.
If things still make no sense, that’s okay. If God wants you to understand something, He’ll reveal it eventually. Regardless, you can trust that He’s sovereign over your situation and will somehow use it for good.
Maybe, by teaching you to trust Him with the incomprehensible, He already is.
9. Distinguish between struggle and defeat.
Struggle doesn’t equal defeat. (190)
Sometimes we judge ourselves for struggling. In our desperation for healing or strength or success, we consider anything less a defeat.
Maybe weakness scares us. Maybe we believe success will fix all our problems. Maybe we’re just sick of not being where we want to be.
Here’s the truth: Until Jesus Christ returns to redeem this broken world, every one of us is going to experience difficulties. Until we who put our faith in Him meet Him face to face, we’ll never be perfect. And nothing in this life or the next can satisfy the deepest ache in our souls except the One who made us—God Himself.
He doesn’t expect us to be flawless or struggle-free. He expects us to give Him what we have, to obey Him with the resources at our disposal, and to trust Him with the rest. Because He is perfect and omnipotent, and His grace is sufficient to get us where we need to be.
The only real defeat comes when we turn Him down and try to do life on our own terms. Even then, if we repent and seek Him, He welcomes and redeems us.
What’s more, He wants to do so! Jesus—God the Son in human form—died on the cross to atone for our sins, was buried, and rose to life on the third day afterward to offer us eternity with God. Forty days later, He ascended to heaven, where He intercedes and advocates for those who put their faith in Him. One day He’ll return to end sin, death, and suffering for good. Meanwhile, God’s Holy Spirit works in the hearts and lives of those who put their faith in Jesus, to make them more and more like Christ.
If you haven’t already given your life to Him, do so now! Confess your sins to God and repent of them. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life and Savior of your soul.
When you struggle, turn to Him for help and grace. He’ll never leave you or forsake you.
An earlier version of this content appeared as a series on my Facebook and Instagram pages.
All quotes are from my book, Just Megan: A Story of Grace and Resilience in the Face of the Unknown (Redemption Press, 2025). For more insights and real-life examples of turning struggles into growth, grab your copy here.
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