Psalm 139:13-18
You are the one who put me together inside my mother's body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do. Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine. I try to count your thoughts, but they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. And when I awake, I will find you nearby.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In 1979, the teacher whose classroom was next-door to mine traveled to Oklahoma with her family for the Thanksgiving holiday. The day after Thanksgiving, a big truck careened through an intersection and plowed directly into her car. Only 34 years old, Vicki was killed instantly. Her 8-year-old son and her mother survived. Several years later on the day after Thanksgiving, the 15-year-old son of friends we have known since childhood was killed in a car accident, along with a young child traveling in the other vehicle. You probably could share similar experiences that have affected your own life at some point.
All of this is hard to understand. We can’t wrap our brains around how God could allow such shocking tragedy… such seemingly unnecessary catastrophe… especially in light of this passage of scripture. How could a God who knows us before we were formed in our mother’s womb… who knows everything about us… know that this will happen to us or someone we love, and allow it? Believe me, I’ve asked these same questions, particularly when people I knew personally were affected by such horrific events.
For me, the answer lies in the second part of this passage. “Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding.” I know that God has plans for each of us… plans we can’t begin to imagine – and may not ever fully understand this side of heaven. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is always with us. Wherever we wake up – whether safe and secure on this earth or in His arms in heaven – God allowed things to happen in the best way possible for us.
Last week, an Arkansas Razorback football player died suddenly, only one day after he had participated in a game in Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. By all accounts, Garrett Uekman was a wonderful young man… a standout athlete in several sports, a bright student, and most importantly – a devout Christian who served his God well. The cause of death was apparently a genetic heart disorder that caused irregular heartbeats and a thickening of the heart muscle. We ask, “If God knew that Garrett had this condition, couldn’t He have fixed it?” What we fail to ask is, “What did God prevent in Garrett’s life that could have been far worse? Did He save him from suffering and anguish… a lengthy illness or sadness beyond description in his own life? What was God’s purpose for Garrett on this earth… had he fulfilled this already?”
We don’t know everything about God’s plans. We’re not supposed to. But we are supposed to trust Him to do exactly what is exactly right for us. We are supposed to believe that God would never leave us… and He would never deliberately harm us. I am believing today that God looked at each of us and said, “I’m going to make So-and-So this way… and I’m going to take care of him/her every step of the way. There will be bumps in the road, but nothing that I can’t handle. And I am going to ask Him to guide my steps… and to give me courage and confidence to handle whatever He allows to come my way. If you see me doing a less than stellar job of trusting Him in this, you have my permission to remind me!
Someday, all of this will become crystal clear to us… if we still even care to question it. When we stand before God and bask in the light of His glory in Heaven, we will understand fully how amazing He is… how beautifully He formed each of us… and how perfectly He orchestrated every moment of our lives. And we will know for certain that He was always nearby… even into Eternity. For that, let’s give Him praise even in seasons of sadness. Let’s look toward a day when He will restore our joy. Let’s bolster our faith by trusting God to handle even the worst situations for us – and step forward with confidence that He is always nearby.
©2011 Debbie Robus
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