9 Reasons Why God Might Not Rescue You, by Lori Hatcher
“For
when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were
harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within” (
2 Corinthians
7:5).
The New King James translation of this verse uses the
painfully descriptive phrase “hard pressed” to describe Paul’s trials. “We were
hard pressed on every side.” The origin of this phrase comes from the practice
of squeezing a fruit or vegetable (grapes, olives) to extract its juice.
Some days (weeks, months, seasons, years) I feel
hard-pressed. Like life has me between a mortar and pestle and is pounding me
into fine dust. I know you can relate.
You sweat and groan and weep and rage and cannot find
relief. The intense pressure doesn’t stop. You plead for rescue, yet the vise
of life’s circumstances squeezes tighter and tighter until you think you might
scream, and sometimes you do.
“Why doesn’t God rescue me?” you cry, and the question
echoes back. “Why?”
I believe there are at least nine reasons why God
sometimes chooses not to rescue us. If you’re feeling hard-pressed today or
know someone who is, I invite you to prayerfully consider these reasons and ask
the Lord to show you which might apply to your situation.
Why God
Chooses Not to Rescue Us:
1.
We don’t believe He can
God works in response to
faith.
Hebrews 11:6
tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please him. For God to answer
our prayers, we “must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him” (
Hebrews 11:6).
Our lack of faith can be a huge hindrance, not because God can’t overrule our
faithlessness, but because he won’t. He never forces faith on anyone.
Thankfully, all it takes is the faith of a mustard seed to invite God to work
in our lives. It’s not how much faith we have, but in whom our faith rests that
matters.
2.
We have
sin in our lives
We cannot willfully choose to disobey God and
simultaneously expect him to bless us. As human parents, we withhold blessings
from our children when they rebel against us. God often does the same. More
important than health, wealth, and happiness is whether we have a right
relationship with God. He’ll often use difficult circumstances to help us
realize how much we need him.
3.
We need
to learn to trust him
Our faith begins small and increases with every
challenge. Like a muscle, our confidence in God’s power grows stronger the more
we exercise it. Trials, heartbreaks, and circumstances beyond our control force
us to turn to our all-powerful God. Every time we acknowledge our weakness and
see him act on our behalves, our faith grows. Before long, we have a long list
of answered prayers that makes it easier and easier to trust him.
4.
He knows
that a rescue wouldn’t be best
So often we just want OUT of a difficult situation. We’re
not interested in what’s best in the long term, we want relief now. I remember
when my daughter wore braces. Every month the orthodontist would tighten the
wires on her teeth so much that her teeth would ache for days. If you asked her
during this painful time if she wanted her braces removed, she would have said,
“YES!”
Her orthodontist knew, however, that while taking off her
braces would have ended her temporary suffering, it would have interfered with
her long-term health. The same is true of many of our trials. The apostle Paul
knew this when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (
Romans 8:18).
5. There’s a lesson we need to learn or a
character quality we need to develop through this
situation
When my husband lost his job, we learned that God is our
provider. When I cared for a baby with colic and another with constant ear
infections, I learned patience, kindness, and unselfishness. When I worked with
difficult coworkers, I learned to see them through Jesus’ eyes, not my own.
Instead of asking Why?
when we encounter difficulty, what if we asked What?, as in, What can
I learn from this situation?
6.
God is
building our faith story so we can one day share what we’ve learned with others
2
Corinthians 1:3-4 reveals this purpose: “Praise be to the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ ... who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can
comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from
God.” Because of the faith valleys I’ve walked, I can truly identify with and
minister to those who have lost a loved one, parented a prodigal, experienced
unemployment, and resurrected a stale
marriage. Experiencing
God’s faithfulness during these difficult times has enabled me to say with
certainty, “God will help you.”
7.
God is
doing something amazing
You can’t see it right now, but he is working out his
purpose in your situation. Nothing can thwart God’s good purposes for his
children. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of
man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (
1 Corinthians
2:9).
8.
God is
developing his mind and heart in you
When circumstances press us hard into God’s Word and
force us to seek him for wisdom, faith, grace, and strength, he begins to
conform us to his image. We can’t spend large amounts of time in his presence
without starting to think, act, and love like he does. “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.
For
those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his
Son...” (
Romans
8:28-29).
9. God is teaching you that a close, personal,
spiritual relationship with him is sweeter and more
precious
than a happy, healthy, trouble-free, physical life
I experienced a trial years ago greater than anything I’d
ever walked through before. With one phone call, I felt like everything
precious to me had been stripped away. I awakened the next morning feeling like
I had nothing left but God.
As I cried, and prayed, and cried some more, Jesus met me
there. He wrapped his big tender arms of love around me and spoke words of hope
into my troubled soul. He spoke words of truth into my reeling mind. He spoke
words of love into my broken heart. And he spoke words of courage into my
trampled faith.
My encounter with him was so powerful and real that I
will never again doubt his love, care, and purpose. “It was good for me to be
afflicted,” King David wrote, “so that I might learn your ways,” and I agree.
While I would never voluntarily choose to repeat those dark days, I know God
used them to grow my love for him in ways he never could have otherwise.
“... I
consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them
rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (
Philippians
3:8).
There are many reasons God chooses not to rescue us from
our trials. I’ve listed a few here to get you thinking. What comforts me in the
darkness of suffering is the knowledge that God is just, God is powerful, and
God is good.
I can rest in this, and you can, too.
What about you? Have you come through a journey of
suffering only to catch a glimpse of God’s purpose in the rear view mirror? I’d
love to hear about it. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
