Trust in God.
This is likely something that, in your journey as a Christian, you have been told hundreds of times. We are told that God always has a plan and that we need to have faith that His plans are better than ours. I’ve been in a season where I am re-evaluating my trust in God. If I’m being transparent, there have been situations in my life where my trust in God has been conditional. I have found myself saying things like…
“God, if [insert current situation here] happens, you must not love me like I thought you did.”
“Jesus, where are you? Do you even care?”
“Lord, I trust you, but I need this to happen like this…”
Recently I was reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If you don’t remember how the story goes, allow me to refresh your Sunday School memory. King Nebuchadnezzar (that’s a mouthful) set up a “golden image” in his town and was requiring all the people to bow down and worship his gods and this golden image. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to do this. When they were told they would be thrown into the fiery furnace as punishment, they said this:
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Daniel 3:17-18
Let’s review in case you aren’t completely grasping what’s going on here. They are being threatened with the punishment of being thrown into a FURNACE and BURNED and they have so much faith in God that they know He will deliver them. Here’s the kicker though: even if He didn’t deliver them, they were still going to trust Him. They were still going to worship Him. He was still good.
There have been so many situations in my life that God has delivered me from. His grace has done some incredible things in my life. He has saved me and set me free from a life that could have been so different.
BUT.
Would I have felt the same way about God had He let me go through certain situations? Would I have still been as in love with Jesus as I am if certain situations would have turned out differently? Would He still be good to me if He had let me stay in my own “fiery furnace?” The problem lies within our idea of when God is good. We feel that God is good because all these incredible things are happening in our lives. God is good because we got that promotion. God is good because you met the love of your life and are planning your future together. God is good because you found out you are pregnant after years of trying for a baby. God is not good because of these things. God is good despite these things. Our love for God and our trust in Him should not be solely based on whether situations turn out the way we want them to.
Even if God has us walk through tough situations to teach us something, He is still good.
Even if we don’t get the job that we just knew was perfect for us, He is still good.
Even if we are told we’ll never have a baby of our own, He is still good.
Even if God left Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the furnace, He would still be good.
Though trials and hardships and illness and days that seem unbearable, He is still good. We often learn just how good God is because of the situations that we thought we would never make it out of. The idea is to really focus on how good He is without all these good things. I love my husband and my sweet baby girl more than anything in the world. I love my job and I am so thankful for the home that we have been blessed with. Even if all those things were suddenly ripped away, God is still good. The things that He’s done in my life, just simply by being God, far outweigh all the other good things. I am thankful that His plan is often different than my own, but it is always so much better. I trust Him and praise Him because He is good even if my situation is not. Never let your trust become conditional because His goodness is always unconditional. He is good.
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For is lovingkindness is everlasting”.
Psalm 106:1