God has something better…

Have you ever said that before? When something doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned, when something that you anticipated fell through, have you ever said “I guess God has something better for me.” Has someone ever said that to you in response to a disappointment? What if He doesn’t? What if the next thing that He has for you is equally as disappointing and frustrating to you? What if the next thing that God has for you will be even more disastrous?

Does that make God unjust? Does that mean that God doesn’t love you? Does that mean that He is not interested in your good? Certainly not. May God be found true though every man is a liar! The wisdom of God is unfathomable. His grace and love toward His beloved saints is supreme, even as His love for His Son is supreme. God is for us!

So what then are we to assume? I’ve been thinking about this over the past few days because of a disappointing turn of events in my own life. And of course, I have an example from my children. My daughter has been running in the house. I recently told her to stop running, since she has gotten older and we realized that it is not really in her best interest to run inside, nor that of her little sisters, and that it is not something that we’ll want her to do in other situations. One of those parenting issues where you realize that you’ve allowed something that you probably shouldn’t have. Anyway, the point at which I have told her to stop running, the issue in correction ceases to be if she is running or not and becomes her obedience to my command. And therefore when I correct her for it – which I have had to – I must be gracious (since I allowed it for some time) and I must correct her on the level of her obedience to my command and her desire to depart from my command to do what she wants (her rebellious nature). I must correct and instruct to the issue and not the symptom. The symptom is running. The issue is rebellion in the heart and the departure from my word. If I merely correct to the running, she will still have rebellion in her heart and will have no idea that it is there. If, however, I correct to the issue of rebellion, then she will be one step closer to understanding the key issue in the gospel.

God is a greater parent that any of us. He knows that there are issues and symptoms. He knows that in our heart of hearts, we are more concerned with our comfort than trust in Him. And so, when we are challenged with an issue and He removes something from our lives or else He redirects in such a way that is different than we expected, instead of saying “God has something better for me” we should understand that what is happening is the better. What He is doing, in ridding us of our self interest is the better thing. He is addressing the issue and not merely the symptom. The issue is not the thing which you have lost or the situation that has not turned out the way that you wanted. The issue is that you are seeking, most likely, what you think is better and not what God thinks is better for you. The issue is that we must learn to trust His way and His word and we won’t unless He challenges our faith so that we must trust Him alone.

May this thought be a blessing for you as it has been for me and my family.