Here’s a secret that I want to share with you: God doesn’t do things our way. Surprise! 😁 And, that is not just “OK”; it’s the best thing that could happen to us.
I know that is hard to hear when we think about tragedies in our lives, or monstrous evil in the world. The Psalms are full of complaints, asking God how long He will let pain continue and why doesn’t He do something about wrong-doing. But those same Psalms continue with trust that — even when it seems otherwise — God’s way is the right way. (See Psalms 13, 28, 57, 69, 73, 77, 85, 94, 102, 130, 141.) I want to look at a few examples where the Bible teaches this lesson.
God’s Way in History
Joseph
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He probably disagreed with God’s plan, but it did bring him to Egypt. When he rose to a high position in his master’s household, he was falsely accused by the master’s wife and thrown into prison. He probably disagreed with that plan, also, but it brought him to the attention of the pharaoh…although not until two years later. That led him to become second-in-command of all Egypt, rescuing the country and its neighbors — including his father and brothers — from famine.
Slavery in Egypt
Joseph’s family and their descendants were enslaved by a later pharaoh. They were not thrilled with God’s way, either. But it kept their bloodline and heritage intact, rather than dispersed by intermarriage with pagan neighbors. About 400 years later, when the family had grown to hundreds of thousands of descendants, God commissioned Moses to lead them back to their homeland. They were now a nation, rather than a lone nomad family.
Joshua
Scouting the city of Jericho before the first battle to reclaim that homeland, Joshua encountered a heavenly warrior. When he asked if that warrior was on his side, or his enemy’s, the answer was “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” God has no obligation to be on anyone’s side. Humans choose whether or not they are on His side. (Joshua 5:13-15)
Babylonian Captivity
Several hundred years after Moses and Joshua, through a history of mostly-corrupt judges and kings ruling the people of Israel, God allowed the larger northern kingdom to be destroyed by Assyria, then the smaller southern kingdom to be conquered by and exiled to Babylon. I’m sure they disagreed with God’s choice. But, once God allowed them to return from Babylon 70 years later, they had finally been cured of the idolatry that had plagued them. They had become determined not to let their worship be contaminated by outside influences ever again.
Roman Occupation
Although back in their homeland, the Israelites were conquered again…first by Alexander the Great and his successors, then by the Roman Empire. They probably disagreed, yet again. But it put them into the perfect intersection of geography and culture to host Jesus’ ministry and launch His church.
Jesus
Jesus is the Messiah who was prophesied and prepared for throughout all of the above. The people recognized His power and authority. They were ready to crown Him king and follow Him as He led a revolt against Rome and restored Israel to its promised glory as God’s people. Instead, He allowed Himself to be killed, tortured to death as a blasphemer and an insurrectionist. His followers probably disagreed with that plan.
Here is a preview scene from an upcoming season of The Chosen, showing the reaction of Judas — the disciple but eventual traitor — to learning that Jesus was not going to follow his idea of how the kingdom should be launched 1. He was so determined that the Messiah would show His power in a particular way that he could not accept the fact that God had a different plan.
How often do I do the same, being sure that God will thank me for my advice and do things my way? Is God asking me, as Jesus asked Judas, “If I don’t do it your way, will you still believe?”
God’s Way with Individuals
Paul’s Thorn
The Apostle Paul had a problem. We don’t know exactly what is was, but he called it “a thorn in my flesh.” When he asked God to remove the problem for him, His answer was “No.” God’s plan called for Paul to be given grace and strength to continue despite the problem. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
Little James’ Limp (fictional)
Jordan Walker Ross, the actor who plays disciple “Little James” in The Chosen, has a real-life disability: cerebral palsy and scoliosis. The writers of the series incorporated that issue into the on-screen character. The Bible does not record James or any other disciple as having a chronic disability. But the characterization allowed Jordan to play the role without having to cover or hide his real condition. It also allowed for this scene to teach the same lesson that Paul would later learn, and that Jordan himself has learned: God can have reason to choose not to heal, but rather to make a bigger impact through the pain.
Nick Vujicic
Speaking of the Little James scene above, here is an interview with Nick Vujicic discussing the parallels to his own condition. Nick was born with no limbs, no arms or legs. As a child, he felt hopeless, even trying to commit suicide at age 10. Now he is an international motivational speaker, happily married father of four, and outstanding Christian role model. God has not healed him physically. But He has used him in a tremendous way.
God’s Agenda, Not Mine
God is not a tool to be used for my own agenda. He is King. Nothing about our relationship requires Him to do what I want, in the way I want, with the timing I want. Just the fact that He allows me to have a relationship is already incredibly more than I deserve. I have no right at all to dictate anything to Him.
It is so easy to miss this point, though. We think God ought to behave the way we expect, or ask. Then we think He’s wrong when He doesn’t do what we want: He doesn’t heal, or grant the request; He answers the prayer with “No”. We automatically jump to “He’s not there”, or “He doesn’t love me”, or “He’s making a mistake”. The truth is “He knows better than we do.”
What If….?
In the examples above, what if God had done what His people wanted? Joseph would have stayed home with his family…until they all starved in the famine. Or, his descendants would have lived happily ever after in Egypt…and never returned to their own land as their own independent nation. Without Babylon, the last remnant of Israelites would have dissolved into the same idolatry as the people around them, and forsaken God completely. Without Greece and Rome, there would not have been the infrastructure of roads and common language for Christianity to be spread beyond Judea.
And what if Jesus had done what Judas wanted and led a military revolution? How small and petty that would have been compared to what He actually accomplished! It would have been just one more skirmish in a world history full of battles. Even if completely successful in routing Rome, Jesus would have traded that human victory for failure in His divine mission to defeat sin’s hold on all people for all time. Not a good trade!
Bottom Line
God wants us to come to Him with our requests. He wants the conversation with us. But He also wants our trust when He answers: “I love you, but my plan is bigger than you can understand.”
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Isaiah 55:8-9
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
P.S. This article had just published early in the morning when a friend sent this quote to me that same evening. It seemed so appropriate that it needed to be added here.
God is still writing your story. Quit trying to steal the pen. Trust the Author.
I don’t know who wrote this, but it is true. God’s Way is best!
Note: Similar articles on this site include “Sovereignty of God“, “Why Bad Things Happen“, “Why Pray?“, and “Why Bother?“
