The question proposed is the following, “What do I do when things don’t go my way?” Or I guess it could be rephrased as, “What should I do when things happen in a way that I didn’t expect?”
Grappling with this question is at the heart of the Christian’s life and struggle. Through faith we accept the promises of God, however we do not always see the promises fulfilled in the manner that we prefer. Sure, we love seeing miracles happen in our lives. Unfortunately, we don’t always see them happen; and we don’t always see them happen when and how we want.
Personally, I have seen hundreds of miracles over the course of my life. Blind eyes opened, deaf ears opened, tumors shrink, withered arms unfold and more. I don’t see this all the time when I minister, but it definitely is not surprising when it does happen. That being said, I still don’t see all of the miracles that I want to see.
Why?
I wish I had a good answer, but I don’t!
This season of life for my family has been fraught with challenges. My father, Dr. Henry Holland, is battling cancer. My 13-year-old son Judah was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. These two diagnoses are not in line with our hopes and desires. In both cases, things are not going our way.
At this moment I do not have any answers for the mountains that we are facing as a family. Perhaps I will not have any answers on this side of the grave and eternity. Of course, once we reach eternity the answers will not matter.
On this side of eternity our options are to be bitter, angry, resentful, depressed, etc. We can allow the challenges to become our focal point of attention and to take our eyes off Jesus. Or we can place our eyes on Jesus and praise Him in the midst of the storm. I am reminded of the song by Casting Crowns, “Praise You In This Storm” and these lyrics.
As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away
And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Our response as believers should be rooted in faith and praise. Sometimes our faith for a miracle wanes, but our faith in who He is should not. When we meet Him with our faith in who He is, often He meets us with the faith to continue on in the midst of the storm.
- When things don’t go your way – do not forsake Him.
- When things don’t go your way – lift up praise to Him.
- When things don’t go your way – trust that He will work things out even if it is not the way you want.
