The Green Pastures

Why does God let us get excited about opportunities only for them to let us down? That is a question I have heard countless times from friends around me, and one I’ve asked myself many times. It can be hard to wrap our heads around that. If God is loving and knows everything that will happen, why does He get our hopes up for seemingly nothing? I’m not going to pretend I know the perfect remedy for that question, but I intend to share what has helped me. 

God and the Unknown

“As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

I often struggle with the unknown: the things God chooses not to reveal or explain. The best tool for me in fighting this feeling is an analogy I heard. Imagine your face is pressed against the moon and all that you see is what God allows to be understood. Everything else is on the far side of the moon. When I first heard that, it put into picture how much greater God is in relation to me. God is far beyond what we could even imagine. He is working on so much more than we could ever see or understand. If there is someone that powerful who has got your life to this point, then why would you think He would suddenly stop working things for your good? God has not carried you this far just to carry you this far. Everything God is doing has a reason, and a lesson worth learning. That lesson is different for every unique circumstance. Whether you are in a season of waiting or a season of rejection, there is a purpose God put you there. In my personal season of rejection, I had just been turned down from my college of choice. I thought God was calling me there. I had already told everyone as if it was guaranteed. When I received news of the rejection, my whole future was flipped upside down. I felt ashamed that my future did not go how I thought, I can feel ashamed from time to time even now.  Luckily, I was surrounded by amazing pastors. If you can’t see what God is doing, then go to the wiser people in your life so they can try to clear things up, or at least comfort you as you walk through it. 

God and Your Plan

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that testing of your faith produces steadfastness” James 1:2-3

Only an hour after hearing I was rejected by the college, was I on the phone talking it through with a pastor. He helped me see that there is a lesson in each season God puts us in, but especially in disappointment and waiting. So when you get disappointed or feel stuck in seasons of waiting, look to God and ask Him what lesson it is He wants to teach you. In my personal season of rejection, the lesson was to teach me to put my worth in Him alone. Not only that, but the rejection put me in a spot to work through my life calling. In some ways it led me to begin this series of writings, so do not sit idle in disappointment or waiting, but rather use them to grow. If it seems hard to see what God has for you to learn, then there are a few simple steps. Pray about it. Pray that God will open your eyes to what He wants you to learn. Pray He’ll give you patience and peace while you learn that lesson. He is gracious enough to provide it when you ask. 

God and His Plan

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

In hard seasons, it can easily feel like God is distant or just not working. In those seasons, it is imperative to constantly repeat to yourself that God is always working all things for good. God is not passively watching your situation. As other translations put it, God is deeply concerned and actively working all things for the good of those called. Even when we do not see any possible way something can be used for good, God is already working. Do not give up on Him and His plan. There were countless times when I could not see how God could use it. Now as I look back to each of those times, I can see how God used the hardest moments for His glorification and carried me through.  Trust that God will carry you through whatever it is, and when you look back in the future, notice and appreciate what God turned for good.