Tonight was an interesting night. I came home early from class in Chattanooga because of the snow, and was planning on a fun game-night with my soccer team at my coach's house. Then, as I was talking to one of my friends, he invited me and some other friends to come over to his house for a while--before the game-night. I talked to my mom about it and she said that I couldn't go to either, because she didn't want me out on the roads in the snow.
Bummer. What was going to be a fun-filled evening became a bleak future. It was really too bad, because I was looking forward to both. So I was trying to have a good attitude about all this, and then mom said that if my friend was okay with it, he could come over to my house, spend the night, eat pancakes in the morning, and we could hang out. So, what looked like a bleak evening then became a bright future.
He said he was going to come at about 8:30, and would call before he came. Mom and I decided to watch a movie together while we waited. It was a good time. But, 8:30 turned into 10:00 and my friend still didn't show up. I called him and he said that he couldn't get a hold of me to tell me that the roads were too icy, so he wouldn't be able to make it.
Bummer. So that's where I'm at right now. Looking at it from a Christian perspective, it's a little puzzling. I mean, first God provides me with a fun activity for the evening (the game-night), then He takes it away. Then He substitutes it with another fun activity (my friend coming over) only to take it away again. Thankfully, I still had a good time with Mom, and He's helped me to not really get bummed out about my friend not coming over. But it still is confusing why He did what He did.
I know it sounds like a trivial thing, but it has real connotations for the Christian life. Many times God will take something away from us, and we won't understand why. We know that He loves us and works everything out for our good, but His actions don't seem to make sense. Especially when it seems like He's toying with us. Have you ever experienced that? But, since we can do nothing about it, we sit back and wait for God to show us why. However, it doesn't always work that way. God doesn't always show us why He does what He does. He doesn't always give you a reason. He may never fully reveal His reasons for His actions. We may never get the answer to our 'why'. And this is the key. It is in this moment where we are called not to question, not to doubt, not to turn away, but to humbly say as Job did, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." God won't always give you the answers. He won't always let you know why He does why He does. But remember this, He DOES love you and He WILL work everything out for your good. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
Bummer. What was going to be a fun-filled evening became a bleak future. It was really too bad, because I was looking forward to both. So I was trying to have a good attitude about all this, and then mom said that if my friend was okay with it, he could come over to my house, spend the night, eat pancakes in the morning, and we could hang out. So, what looked like a bleak evening then became a bright future.
He said he was going to come at about 8:30, and would call before he came. Mom and I decided to watch a movie together while we waited. It was a good time. But, 8:30 turned into 10:00 and my friend still didn't show up. I called him and he said that he couldn't get a hold of me to tell me that the roads were too icy, so he wouldn't be able to make it.
Bummer. So that's where I'm at right now. Looking at it from a Christian perspective, it's a little puzzling. I mean, first God provides me with a fun activity for the evening (the game-night), then He takes it away. Then He substitutes it with another fun activity (my friend coming over) only to take it away again. Thankfully, I still had a good time with Mom, and He's helped me to not really get bummed out about my friend not coming over. But it still is confusing why He did what He did.
I know it sounds like a trivial thing, but it has real connotations for the Christian life. Many times God will take something away from us, and we won't understand why. We know that He loves us and works everything out for our good, but His actions don't seem to make sense. Especially when it seems like He's toying with us. Have you ever experienced that? But, since we can do nothing about it, we sit back and wait for God to show us why. However, it doesn't always work that way. God doesn't always show us why He does what He does. He doesn't always give you a reason. He may never fully reveal His reasons for His actions. We may never get the answer to our 'why'. And this is the key. It is in this moment where we are called not to question, not to doubt, not to turn away, but to humbly say as Job did, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." God won't always give you the answers. He won't always let you know why He does why He does. But remember this, He DOES love you and He WILL work everything out for your good. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.