We all desire and need some degree of basic life security to thrive. This is in part why we build houses and communities. We need somewhere to call home and retreat from the dangers of life. But, as with many things, we’re also prone to make an idol of what’s good. And this can strain our ability to trust God when our temporal safety doesn’t appear to be his primary objective.
Of course, we should bring everything to God in prayer rather than stewing in our anxiety. But all too often we treat God like a genie and expect him to grant our requests on our terms. And this leaves us rather bewildered and angry when the very heartache and suffering we prayed for God to deliver us from now enters our story. With Martha, we might lament to Jesus knowing he had the power for things to be different.
To be sure, the issue is not necessarily what we prayed for, but the heart and expectations we have behind it. Said another way, are we trusting God for his goodness or for his safety?
Many of us have come to believe that God is primarily concerned with keeping us safe. We then struggle to fully trust him when this is not guaranteed. God promises to work all things out for good, but this is not to suggest the path to get there will be a safe one per se. While at times God rescued his people from the mouths of lions and from flaming fire, others were stoned and sawed in half. And even Jesus wasn’t spared from the suffering and shame of the cross.
We can trust in God’s goodness. But this must be seen in light of eternity and the larger story he is telling. We will quickly lose heart when this is only seen in terms of our temporal safety in this life.
In the end, God’s goodness should not be confused with our desires for safety. Pray for God’s protection and deliverance from harm. But this must be approached from the perspective of God’s eternal goodness and not our temporal safety or comfort.
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