Hammer on Anvil '

Sometimes things happen to Christians and we wonder why. We seem to think that, as children of God, we should be insulated from any unpleasantness in life.

Recently my dear niece called to share what's going on in her life. She does this periodically; she and I seem to have an uncanny knack for understanding each other. She GETS me, and I get her.

This time, she called to ask for prayer. Her church is in the midst of a capital campaign -- not a huge one, but just adding on some much needed room. Right after my niece and her husband prayerfully committed the amount they felt God wanted them to give, they got hit hard -- a nearly $4,000 auto repair. Satan is SO predictable, is he not?

The cool thing about my niece is that she was way clued in on this. She shared her excitement at waiting to see how God was going to provide in the midst of this.

We must not deny God's inherent goodness simply because we are bewildered by circumstances. We need to remember we are but fallen, sinful creatures and that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). We have no right to expect to understand our Creator's every move. If we did, what need would there be for faith?

Remember Job? He refused to curse God even when nearly everything he had was taken from him -- including his health. Through his entire horrendous ordeal, he maintained his confidence in God's goodness, even though the reason for His suffering was never revealed to him.

Christians love to quote Romans 8:28 about how all things work together for our good. But many of us misinterpret what "good" means. In God's economy, our "good" does not mean convenience and comfort and a carefree existence. God's ultimate end in His dealings with us is His own glory -- and when we are disciplined by Him, it is because He is conforming us into the likeness of His Son.

J.I. Packer explains this dynamic very well in his book Hot Tub Religion:

"He leaves us in a world of sin to be tried, tested, belabored by troubles that threaten to crush us, in order that we may glorify Him by our patience under suffering, and in order that He may display the riches of His grace and call forth new praises from us as He constantly upholds and delivers us."

Even in horrific illness; even in the deepest, darkest depression; even in the death of a loved one; even when an innocent is cruelly molested; even when children go astray and we fear for their very souls -- let us remember, dear brothers and sisters, that our God is still on His throne. And let us seek to glorify Him in how we respond to whatever life might throw our way.