Gotta Go THROUGH It

Some children I knew, whose parents were ministers, grew up with their fair share of "horror" stories. It's kinda hard not to have "things" happen when you're dealing with a passel of kids.

Anyway, in the midst of rowdiness one night when the parents were out and about, one of the kids broke the lid to the toilet tank. In the old days, one kid in trouble meant all the kids got in trouble, so ... One got the bright idea of putting a flower arrangement on it to try to hide the big crack—and then all six hedged their bets by praying all night for a miracle, that God would simply make that crack disappear.

Unfortunately for my friends, it didn't happen. God could have restored the toilet tank lid—but He didn't. The kids had to face the music. Lesson learned? When there's too much rough housing, God will let you suffer the consequences.

Life is like that. There are some hardships that God in His mercy erases or mitigates. Then there are others that we just have to walk through. Like the early childhood rhyme says, "Can't go over it, can't go around it—gotta go through it!"

Compared to the adversities faced as adults, a broken toilet top seems like a rather minor problem. But adult troubles hurt just as much—and often more—frequently eliciting the rebellious query, "Why?????" Why do the good have to suffer? Why do the righteous die young? Why does our prayer go unanswered? Why? Why? Why?????

The truth is, we might never know in this life. This doesn't need to land us in despair, though. We say, "God is good!" when He answers immediately. We say, "God is good!" when He answers the way we think He should. If He takes longer in answering, does that change His innate goodness? If He answers in a way other than what we asked, does that mean He is not good? John wrote, "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Even when His answer is delayed. Even when He answers in a way we didn't anticipate. Whatever the reason for things we don't understand, we can depend on the fact that God is good and He is faithful. What He says He will do, He will do.

What trips us up so many times is that we see things through our limited human perspective. God sees from the eternal. The denouement of His plans, plans that are ALWAYS for our good, might very well outreach our life span. Naboth died at the hands of the wicked queen who stole his family vineyard, but God DID demand his blood from her hands (1 Kings 21:1-16; 2 Kings 9:30-37). What good was He brewing by waiting to step in? Could it be He was developing trust in His ultimate goodness not only in Naboth's children but in the hearts of everyone who has read this story through the ages, showing that, in the end, evil would not have its way? We might never know. What we DO know is this.

God DOES care about our prayers. They are so special to Him that each and every one is captured and stored in a bowl. And not just any bowl—a golden bowl, to signify their special worth to Him (Revelation 5:8).

He WILL answer our prayers, He WILL do what He says—but His divine caveat is this: He never promised to do it on OUR timetable!

God told Moses he would lead His people out of slavery—but Moses had to wade through a mess of gut-wrenching plagues to get there.

God promised Joseph exaltation, but he had to suffer thirteen years of rejection, slavery, false accusations, and even imprisonment before getting to that place of honor.

God promised His people a Messiah—but it was roughly 2,000 years from the first prophesy (Genesis 3:15) to the birth of Jesus.

There was a long time between those promises and their fulfillment. Certainly some scoffed along the way and doubted that they would ever come to pass. But one glorious thing stands out—when the fulfillment came, it was so good that the pain of the past was virtually obliterated. As Paul said, "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).

God's people marched out of Egypt with riches and clothed with glorious liberty. Joseph went from the depths of an Egyptian prison to the second highest rank over the land. Proving the worth of every bit of the wait, Jesus ushered in a glorious new pathway to forgiveness and the presence of God.

God's timetable isn't always ours. But it's true. What He has promised WILL come to pass.

Hang in there. The best is yet to come. And when it does, it will be worth the wait.

"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

"God is faithful ... " (1 Corinthians 1:9).

"For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast" (Psalm 33:9).