Whether life is going well, or life isn’t going well, sometimes we treat God’s word as if it depended on us. I’m the one in control; I will claim the blessings of God in my life by the choices I make. And how frustrated, how angry, how disappointed, how sad we get when we have done all the right things, and STILL the disasters come. And we speak evil against God under our breath because the truth is we never really wanted God to be in control at all. It was fine to claim God as my God when life was going well. It was fine if God was riding along in the passenger seat with us giving assent to and even blessing our plans. But when God took over the wheel and drove us into danger and disaster we weren’t willing because we weren’t in control.

Oh you of little faith. You see, it’s not that our faith is extinguished in these moments, it’s just that it’s stretched thin. The way out is found in something totally beyond our control: the promises that God has made. God has put his reputation as the savior on the line when he put his son on the cross and raised him from the dead. The promise was this, “You are mine and nothing—nothing—will change that. I love you too much to let you go. I must save you."

I wonder what “musts” there are when we suffer? Must you suffer so that God can be glorified in your life? Must you suffer so that God can strip away all the idols we prop up? Must you suffer so that when you have nothing left, nowhere else to go, all you have left is God and his promises? It must happen, it is God’s will. It is God’s will that you suffer, because suffering brings spiritual clarity. All the human effort fades away, all the plans that so easily focus on me me me evaporate, and all that remains is your heavenly father with his hand outstretched to you in love saying, “My child, I have you. I love you. Stop putting so much faith in what is out there and trust in me.” God must save you because Jesus already has.