For His Own Good Reasons
Why is God Letting me down?
I Prayed and God Let Me Down – Part 3
I want to begin with a story. Pamela’s first cousin, who was like a sister-cousin, Americus, was a well-loved family member of ours who died before time from cancer. To be honest with you, it is her story that has transformed and changed my entire world. But before her battle with cancer, there was something that happened to me that was unlike anything that ever happened to me before. I learned a few important life-changing, next-level truths about prayer.
As it is my custom, one morning while in prayer, God gave me an unusual assignment. The assignment was to call and pray with Americus every day. I argued with God about it. If I might be transparent, I thought that it was a little bit much to have to call someone every day. I know that sounds strange to you for me to say I argued with God, but when you have a relationship as close to God as I do then you too can have real discussions with Him. You should give it a try.
To provide more understanding, God was asking me to call her, Schelle (Americus), at a specific time, 7:10 am, every single day. I had to barter with God over this assignment. He and I needed to do some collaborating. Keeping in mind that this is God we are talking about, I pleaded my case in that I could successfully accomplish this task if I could do it Monday through Friday. I asked if that would be okay with Him. I told Him I could surely do that.
That’s exactly what I did for three years of Americus’ life. I called her every workday at 7:10 AM to pray and talk with her. For the longest time, I thought it was always for her, but it ended up being for me. In the course of time, she was given the negative report that she had cancer. It had been a year or longer that we had been praying together when she got this diagnosis. Obviously, this became the major focus of our prayer for many days. We prayed for a miracle, we prayed for healing, and we prayed that she would win this battle.
Why is God letting me down?
Like any normal person would, Schelle asked a question that most people would ask. That question was “why did this happen to me?” Just so you know, I’m not going to finish the story, you’ll have to get that from me later. However, I want that question to sink in. Why did it happen to me? In other words, why is God letting me down? We prayed and God let us down. I prayed and God let me down.
- Even if you know why, what would it change?
I remember one morning God asked me to share that statement with her as we prayed. Even if you knew why, what would that change?
Are you like most of Christians who want an answer to that question? The answer to the question “why?’ Do you actually believe that knowing the reason will satisfy your thinking that God has let you down? Are you one of those that just want to know why? Why me? Are you that person who falls into this category? Understanding why God does or doesn’t do, to what you think he should, means you think you know more than God. You see, when you start to question God, you have to be careful because you are assuming that you know what He doesn’t, or you are trying to tell Him something He doesn’t know. I hate to say it this way, and I don’t want to be insensitive, but if you have cancer, God knows it. He knew it beforehand. He knows all. [1] - Regardless of what we may think, God knows best.
In fact, going back to Americus, He knew what was happening so much in advance that He prepared me a year or two earlier to start calling her and praying with her every day. That’s how I know He knew what was going on. He knew what she would need and what we were going to need before we encountered any of what was headed our way. He set us up. The bottom line is this. Regardless of what we may think God knows best. I love that fact.
God knows best. Sometimes, because we have been in ordinary environments and around ordinary people who influence our thoughts, we tend to forget that God knows best. That is the last thing people think about. They don’t want to trust God with it. Here’s what we should have been asking God. How can we walk in this? What shall we do about this? Now that we are here, will You give me my next step? That should be the prayer. Not “why.” “Why” is irrelevant. That statement is one of the lessons I learned from one of my earliest mentors. He would always say, “why is irrelevant.” Why does it matter? Let’s get to it. “Why” is your excuse. “Why” is you procrastinating and making an excuse for not moving forward. Stop wrestling with “why” and let’s get to moving. You’re wasting time with “why.” Let’s not waste time with “why” because “why” is irrelevant. - God has the hardest job of all.
What’s interesting is how we never put ourselves in God’s shoes. I often ask people this question when they face such life and death situations. You know the kind of situation where they are praying for a miracle. They want a family member saved and to live when death is imminent. I’ll ask them this and it is a tough question. As I look them in their eyes I say, if you do not want them to die today, when would you like them to die? Can you tell me when you would like them to die?
They look at me and say what do you mean? I mean, I need you to select the date. You do not want today so what date do you want? They will say some distant time down the road. I will reply, “no, you have to be specific.” What date, what time, what hour, what year? They will say, I want them to outlive me. I reply, that’s not your option. You don’t get to make that call. In fact, they will die before you because this is the order of how this person’s life is designated. So, you select a date and let’s work with it.
My point is this. God has to decide, and He has to put a date and time. Who must decide who is going to be involved when it occurs? Can you imagine having to make such decisions?
Howabout, making this decision for your spouse? You best friend? A child? Your parents?
He has the toughest job of all! He must decide. [2] We have to be reminded that God has the toughest job of all. He has to love me when I’m unlovable. He has to love you when you’re unlovable. He has to forgive you after you have done the worst things imaginable in your life. His job is tough. - This is for God’s good reason.
His decisions and what He has to do is for His own good reason. [3] Everything works out for His good reasons. He has good intentions. Regardless of what we think, He has His own good reasons. When these situations come up and you want to ask why, your focus should be on God. What is it You are trying to do that is good?
Jonah told the guys on the ship to throw him overboard, after he was running from doing the assignment God had given him. In Jonah’s words, “I’m the reason for this storm and why we are about to perish.” [4] Go ahead, get rid of me, end my life by tossing me overboard, is what Jonah suggested. The men with reluctance listened to Jonah. Here’s what was said, “don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.” [3]
What was happening to Jonah, as we know, was not a bad thing. Although it seemed disastrous at the time. God was doing this for His own good reasons.
I want to remind you of this today as you read this message. God is doing this for His own good reasons. You might be going through the storm of a lifetime, but God has His own good reason. You might be experiencing pain in your life, but God has His own good reasons. You might be facing a divorce, loss of a job, or loss of a loved one, but God has His own good reasons. Those guys on the ship knew it and so should you. This was happening for God’s own good reason.
Question: What is it that God is doing in your life that He is doing for His own good reasons?
[1] Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 7, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.55.8-9.NLT
[2] Job 30:23 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 7, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JOB.30.23.NLT
[3] Jonah 1:14 NLT, Bible.com, accessed November 7, 2023, https://bible.com/bible/116/jon.1.14.NLT
[4] Jonah 1:12 NLT , Bible.com, accessed November 7, 2023, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JON.1.12.NLT
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.
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