Struggle to Trust: I won’t get what I want

Well, I would have to tell you, ‘you are right, you may not’ if you struggle to trust God because you aren’t convinced you will get what you want. I agree, there are no guarantees that we get what we want. Instead, the promise that we have is that we will get what is good.

God works all for good

Romans 8:28 says, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’ God works for good. Now let’s look at the rest of statement, it qualifies it – right? He works for the good of those who love Him. Do you love Him? That should be a resounding ‘YES’ as much as it was when you accepted Him as Lord and savior the very first time. Then He works for your good. He works for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose. Have you been called? Maybe you are wavering on this point. Maybe you don’t feel like you understand your calling or that you are not walking in His path. 2 Timothy 1:9 affirms the call on us, ‘He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.’ He has indeed called you. Interestingly, it does not say ‘those who know his purpose on them’. It says those who are called for his good purpose. You have been called. (For more about what your purpose in God might be, check out here and the successive posts as well as the resource found here.) So, we can affirm that God works for our good – He called you by name and you love Him.

This is good

The trust struggle probably comes more with our belief that what we see as best is not necessarily what God sees as best. How could He see this as best for me? Your ‘this’ might be different from mine. It might be not making it to the end of the month, it might be that your spouse has left you, it might be that you have been diagnosed with cancer, it might be that your child has died. None of these things are what we categorize as ‘good’.

I think Joseph would have agreed with you. He was a slave, unjustly accused of wrongdoing, and spent time in jail. I don’t think that would be in my ‘good’ column either! But we have the assurance that it is good, and in the end, we will see how it is good. Joseph sees his ‘this’ as good in his lifetime, ‘God intended it for good,’ (Gen 50:20). Unfortunately, we may not. Moses might even say that he didn’t care for the ‘good’ in his lifetime: abandoned by his family, impulsive murderer, alone in the desert, insecure in facing a world leader, leading a bunch of whining ungrateful ninnies. Not all good either. Yet, this too was all a part of God’s good plan. In the end, when we reach the new Jerusalem, we will understand. Should I give another example?

Submit to God, Run to Him

Jesus himself was not too keen on the good that was to come. He knew the good that would be brought about by His crucifixion. But, you know, he also asked God not to do it if there was any other way. There is nothing wrong with telling God what we want or don’t want. But the mark of a true God-lover is to be like Christ and say, ‘not my will but Yours,’ (Luke 22:42). That is the submission that will carry us back to trusting Him and resting in that trust. No more struggling to trust. Run to his arms and surrender. He not only knows best, but he will bring it about. What we long for is His good, that which we know is ultimately better than anything we could imagine. When I don’t get what I want, it’s because He has something better in store.