Sometimes you just don’t get your way. My little came to me the other day and wanted a honey bun. Before dinner. In 5 minutes. From his perspective, he’s hungry and this will fix it. That makes sense and it’s a great idea. But as his mom, I know he’ll be having a much more nutritious and satisfying meal in just a few minutes. Why? I can see beyond his immediate desire. I’m his mom and I know what he needs.
Ever been there? Think about it. The perfect job you didn’t get? An outcome you didn’t want? A choice you wouldn’t have made? We often see this as negative, but what if it’s really not? What if your good idea isn’t the best option?
Several years ago, we, as a family, unexpectedly found ourselves without a church home. As a student pastor’s wife, this is harder than you can imagine. We were in a spiritual desert. We’d been forced to leave everything we knew. But the unknown often feels scarier than the painful familiar, right?
So we decided to visit a church where a number of our friends and family had landed after their exodus. It’s make sense right? We had similar experiences. We had similar hurt. We should all be together to heal. Right? Sounds good to me. I mean, actually it’s perfect. My team was there. My parents were there. The pastor was kind and loving. They needed a youth guy and I HAVE a youth guy. This was a really good plan.
But as we sat in that first and only service we attended, I was sharing all this awesomeness with God and just waiting expectantly for God’s glorious confirmation that I just knew was coming.
In the silence of that moment, tears began to fall. “My child, this is not where I’m sending you.” But it was perfect. These are my people. This is so, so good. But in my heart I hear him whisper…
Do you want your good or my best?
We couldn’t see the plan that lay ahead, but He could. We couldn’t see beyond that vast desert of our current situation, but He could. All we could do was trust and follow.
It’s easy to follow God when the alternative is “bad.” But what about my good things? Am I willing to lay them down and trust God to provide? His plan? His time? In all things? That is faith.
Abundantly 