The One Thing That God Absolutely CAN’T Do
I was recently chatting with a friend who had gone through a bitter divorce. She told me how much she fought for her marriage, tried to compromise with her spouse, and repeatedly suggested marital counseling to address their issues. But after getting turned down at every turn, her spouse had finally pulled the plug on their relationship. To say that she was feeling depressed is a huge understatement! While the fixer in me wanted to try to solve her problems, I knew that in that moment the best thing that I could do was provide emotional support.
After venting her feelings, she sighed and said, “This really hurts. I know it doesn’t seem like it now but I know God is going to work this out for my good…somehow.”
I wish that I could say that was my initial thought but it wasn’t. Maybe that’s why her words reverberated in my mind for some time: “I know God is going to work this out for my good.” I tried to pinpoint why those words affected me the way that they did. All of a sudden, it dawned on me, “Of course God is going to work things out for her good. He literally can’t do otherwise.”
God can’t NOT work negative things out for your good. Do you understand what I’m saying? Just in case the double negative is confusing, God always finds a way to bring something good out of a negative situation. Whether you’re religious or spiritual, whether you identify as Christian or something else, it can be really hard to believe those words, especially when:
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Your spouse files for divorce.
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You fail your standardized test again and have to pay another fee to retake it.
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You don’t match for your residency the first time around.
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You’re in a horrible car crash and have to depend on others to do what you used to do for yourself.
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Your friend betrays your trust and abandons you.
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Your significant other cheats on you.
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Someone steals something of value from you.
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Your child passes away at an early age.
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You’re evicted from your apartment.
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You make a poor stock trade and lose all of your savings.
Each of these situations are devastating in different ways. To be clear, I am not suggesting that God is ordering bad things to happen to you just so He can swoop in and “fix” them later. The reality is we live in a fallen, sinful world. Good things happen to “bad people” just as bad things happen to “good people.” You have free will (as do the people around us) to make decisions—and sometimes, those decisions hurt you or others.
But part of being a Christian is trusting that when bad things happen to you, God still can redeem that situation.
Now, this is the part I feel that I have to say even though it may ruffle your feathers. While I do believe that God will work things out for your good, I a) don’t always believe He does it in our lifetime, and b) don’t necessarily believe that He always works things out for your good (at least not what we would perceive that to be).
How I felt after writing that last sentence…
While we live in a society that encourages us to be me-centered, that’s not how God works. 😶 No, I believe He often—if not always—works things out for a greater good—His glory. Yes, I know this can be depressing news. But bear with me as I explain what I mean.
The story of Jim Elliot
Years ago, I remember reading a story about a group of male missionaries who went to a foreign land to preach the gospel to the Huaorani. Some of these men were married with kids. While they made attempt after attempt to reach this tribe, they were eventually killed by the very same people they were trying to reach. I remember wondering what must it be like to be the wife whose husband was killed, child whose father was killed, or mother whose son was killed—all for the sake of spreading the gospel? One of these men was named Jim Elliot.
It was this same Jim Elliot who wrote in his journal, “he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” (bold emphasis added).
I later learned that Jim’s wife, Elisabeth Elliot, would carry on the work he started. Rather than staying bitter about what happened, she eventually chose to go back to the Huaorani to learn their native language and continue to try to spread the gospel. Eventually, I even watched an interview with a member of the Huaorani who came to know Christ directly through the missionary work of Jim Elliot.
Can I be honest for a moment? I cannot say that if I were in Elisabeth’s position that I could be that gracious or dedicated. To not only forgive my husband’s killers, but to go live with them and learn their native language, just so I can spread the gospel?! That is a level of spiritual maturity I can only aspire to get to one day.
But what this situation reminded me is that Jim Elliot did not get to see the immediate fruits of his labor. He did not get to see God work things out. At the end of his life, between the time he was stabbed and his eventual death, Jim didn’t get a happy ending—at least, not the way that we would generally think of it. If this situation was a basket of lemons, Jim did not get to see God turn it into lemonades. But God did.
Gospel-Lite?
My sister and I were recently discussing how there is a push for pastors—or people in ministry—to tickle your ears by telling you only what you want to hear. You (and I) have been raised on a fairy tale diet where immediate happy endings are guaranteed. Don’t you worry about the evil witch in the beginning of this story! By the end, you will get your prince/ss, your cure, your fill-in-the-blank! You want to believe that since you are Christian (or any other religion), if you go through suffering or difficult situations it will always be followed by a “happy ending” in this lifetime. Can I be frank? For the Christian at least, the only happy ending that IS guaranteed is getting to spend eternity with your Heavenly Father.
You may be going through a situation that makes absolutely ZERO sense. Maybe you feel disappointed by God. Maybe you feel hurt by your family, friends, spouse, and the people around you. Maybe you feel like you can’t catch a break. Maybe you feel like bad things keep happening to you and you can’t understand why a God who says He loves you would allow those things to happen.
I’m going to be honest with you. To answer your question, I do NOT know why God has allowed all of these negative situations into your life. What I do know is that you serve a God who can see the big picture—even when you can’t. While the situation you are currently in may seem bleak, I would encourage you to do the hard thing: continue to trust God. Whether He brings forth a “happy ending” to a bitter situation in this life, or whether you find yourself constantly having to rely on Him for support, trust that God is going to work things out for (your) good—whether in your lifetime or the next. He just can’t do otherwise.
In what situation would you benefit from trusting God right now?
Very good points and examples provided. I won’t lie. Even as a Christian, it’s hard for me to accept that I may not get a happy ending in this lifetime, but I will pray for grace to accept that and look forward to eternity if that happens to be case. Well written!