God Wants The Very Best For Us

God is for us, not against us.

But boy is that hard to believe, especially when our prayers are not met according to our expectations or time-frame.

But nevertheless, God is for us, not against us.  In fact, God is very much for us, and not against us. 

Psalm 23 accents such truth.  Why the Lord is my shepherd, David affirms.  And because the Lord is my shepherd “…surely goodness and [mercy] will follow me, all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6)  Such truth is even more graphic in the literal rendering of this verse:  surely goodness and mercy -- God’s goodness and mercy -- will hunt me down -- will ‘dog’ me -- will pursue me -- all the days of my life.”  (Psalm 23:6).     

So God is not only for us -- God is after us, wanting to shower us with goodness and mercy.   Oh, God’s goodness isn’t always what we expect; it might not even be what we specifically pray for.  But God can be trusted, always ‘showing up’ in His time, delivering His best.

About two years ago, I prayed hard for my daughter and son-in-law, as they considered re-locating from their home in Tennessee; to be honest, I was praying that they relocate to Frederick.  But according to my daughter Sarah, God was leading she and David to California.  ‘California, that can’t be the will of God. that's the Devil's playground!  That’s not goodness and mercy, that’s heartache and misery!  I want my little girl home!’    

But in spite of my persistent prayer, guess what happened:   David and Sarah moved to California!  Well for about two weeks Sarah and I didn’t talk to each other; obviously Sarah had disobeyed the Lord.  But guess who disobeyed the Lord: I had disobeyed the Lord, confusing my specific prayer request, for God’s best.  Because that California move for David and Sarah has become the best thing they could have ever done, resulting in great blessing for both their private and professional lives.  But here’s the best part: God does have a sense of humor.  Why recently I found out, much to my surprise, David and Sarah are relocating again this summer.  But can you guess where:  in the vicinity of Frederick, MD.  Only God! 

But that’s the whole idea:  only God!   And so in part, our expectations, our timeline are not immediately met, because God wants us radically connected to Him and Him alone.  Jesus is adamant in this regard in John 15:4-5 – “Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself…neither can you, unless you abide in me…for apart from me, you can do nothing.”  (John 15:4-5, ESV).   

It’s fascinating:  the word abide means literally to remain, to endure, to not depart.  Translated: ‘no matter what,’ we’re to ‘hang in’ with God, abiding ultimately, not in a specific outcome to prayer, but in God and God alone, eager, expectant of His outcomes!