What to do when everything goes wrong.

What do we do when everything goes wrong? Do we “blame God?” Do we “not believe in Him anymore?” Do we “not believe the Bible is true?” The problem of suffering, pain and unfairness is a big problem. How can we believe in a loving heavenly Father who lets us suffer? Sometimes it appears like He is simply not watching over us.

I am coming to understand these types of situations are not unusual.

1. Joseph did not want to be led into slavery. His brothers remembered “…his terror and anguish and heard his pleadings…” but they carried out their plan anyway.

2. Moses wanted to deliver the Israelites forty years ahead of God’s timing. He stepped out “in faith”. Surely it would be God’s will to deliver His people from slavery. God did not back him up that first time.

3. I feel certain that Daniel did not feel too good as he marched to Babylon in chains, as a slave.

4. I don’t think Jonah felt too good as he was thrown over the boat into the raging sea.

5. Jesus felt abandoned by God on the cross. Mark 15:34.

Some of these situations were consequences of personal choices. Sometimes it was because of the “sin” of others. Joseph sums it up well talking to his brothers,  “Don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.” Genesis 45:5.

There are some common threads in these stories:

1. These people all could have felt abandoned by God.
2. These people all chose to let God carry them through.
3. God brought them all of these people to a significantly better place.

But maybe they liked the old place? Maybe they were not looking for anything significantly better? “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” I remember hearing that eagles will pull their nests apart to get their young uncomfortable enough to fly. The mature eagle is not concerned whether or not the young would like to spend the rest of their life being fed and sleeping in the cozy nest.

Deanna and I had no plans to leave Altamira. We loved the city, the mission, the churches and our home. But things started to get uncomfortable. We felt God leading us on. After some survey trips I told Deanna, “I have looked at several cities. There is no way we can get another house that overlooks the river, and has fruit trees, like the place we have here in Altamira. But God is calling us on.” How wrong I was. Yes, God was calling us on, but not to a worse place as I assumed. He was calling us on to a better place. After we had committed to the move God revealed a surprise to us. In mid-stream we were able to switch from a swampier lower property to a big hillside overlooking the river, complete with a clear land title. God was saving a beautiful place for us in Marabá. I continue to be amazed at how this happened.

Do you ever wonder why God never told Jacob about Joseph being in Egypt until after he found out another way? “…but you will die in Egypt with Joseph at your side.” Gen. 46:4. Jacob suffered for years with no hope. God had talked to him other times about other things. God lets us believe certain things until we are ready to understand more. Here is a lesson I continue to learn. I can not always see how things will work out. There is not enough money. I do not have enough strength. I am just not smart enough, or strong enough, or wealthy enough, nor do I have enough influence to pull it off. But I always know what God wants me to do next. One more document to put in order. One more meeting. One more trip to plan. One more email. I keep putting one foot in front of the other. I keep untangling the knots I see in front of me. I keep looking for the next bottleneck I can unjam. Sometimes I need to just keep waiting. That might be the hardest for me. But I have learned that life is about seasons. Wise people learn to love the different seasons. Seasons change.

The biggest mystery of all? God loves us more than we love our own children. We live in a broken world, but He is the Lord of it all. When everything stops making sense, when we feel completely disoriented and we come to the end of our rope, we can always rely on this truth:

“God is my Father. He is all-powerful. He will carry me through to a better place if I keep trusting in Him. And He is showing me what I should do next.”

END.