God allows us to face difficult situations...

I have come to realise that at times, God allows us to face difficult situations or to be involved in unsatisfactory situations for various reasons. It may be to test us, to reveal our true heart condition. It may be to grow us, to mature us. Heb 12:11 (NIV) No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 
 It may be to motivate us to bring about godly change. However, it is helpful if we can discern what God has in mind. For if we understand that God is seeking to test us or to grow us rather than for us to bring about change, then the route failings of God. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." - Reinhold Niebuhr.