Hello, there!
Today, our linkup features the winner of this month’s Guest Contributor contest. I am excited to have Debbie W. Wilson with a heartfelt post about doubting the goodness of our God. Debbie has a beautiful voice and ministry and is an accomplished writer. Enjoy her post below, visit her blog and encourage her!
Thank you for Recharging with us!
Love,
Patricia
“Do you give samples of your chicken salad?” my friend asked our server.
“No ma’am. We don’t,” he said and left us to our menus.
“I guess I’ll order something else,” she said.
As we enjoyed our meal, the manager dropped by our table to ask how our food was. We told her it was great. Then my friend repeated her question.
“We aren’t able to offer samples because we make each dish fresh when it’s ordered,” she said.
Her answer was more satisfying. There was a legitimate reason they wouldn’t offer a sample. But I still wasn’t convinced. I couldn’t imagine them making one serving of chicken salad at a time.
When I arrived home I received an email from my friend who frequents the restaurant we’d just left. She’d remembered that their chicken salad was not the prepared dish we were picturing. It’s a salad with grilled chicken on top. I laughed at our misunderstanding.
Chicken Salad and the Bible
Some Bible passages seem offensive to me when I first read them. As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, I’ve questioned God about some of His ways. I know His ways are perfect. But sometimes they don’t look that way. I wrestled through some of His laws and the book of Job. Add to this the suffering I see around me. I chose to trust Him, but I wasn’t satisfied.
I’ve asked:
- Why would God allow Job to suffer so much loss, pain, and misunderstanding when God Himself said no one was as righteous as Job?
. - Why did God treat slaves differently than free people and women differently than men?
. - Why does God allow unrighteous judges today to take away the rights of the innocent to protect the wicked?
. - Why does He allow a faithful believer to suffer on a deathbed of pain and the wicked to die peacefully in their sleep?
God used the chicken salad incident to quiet my lingering doubts. I realized that if a restaurant run by mere humans had good reasons for what first appeared to be arbitrary rules, then my perfect and loving Father also has good reasons for His laws and ways of running the world.
On the tail of the restaurant experience I watched a video of a butterfly struggling to escape his cocoon. Because the wrestling took so long, someone cut open the rest of the cocoon to free the butterfly.
I’m sure they thought they were being merciful. But interfering with God’s plan left the butterfly with an ugly bloated body and dwarfed wings. The long struggle produces the butterfly’s strength and beauty. Without it, he is condemned to only crawl and never fly.
God is like the ocean; I’m like a child trying to understand the mysteries of the deep from my small pail of water. I can’t understand someone so much higher and bigger than I am. But I can trust that He is wiser and more loving than I can imagine.
Job got the opportunity to bring his questions to God. Instead of explaining the background of Job’s circumstances and His good intentions for Job, God asked Job to explain the mysteries of the seen world.
If Job couldn’t explain the mysteries of creation, how could he hope to understand the mysteries of the Creator? Job’s questions evaporated in that tiny glimpse of God’s majesty.
I used to say that some questions won’t be answered until we get to heaven. Now, I think that when I see the Lord, my questions won’t matter any more @debbieWwilson Click To Tweet“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11 ESV).
About Debbie:
Drawing from her personal walk with Christ, twenty-four years as a Christian counselor, and decades as a Bible teacher, Debbie W. Wilson speaks and writes to help people discover relevant faith. She is the author of Little Women, Big God and Give Yourself a Break. Share her journey to refreshing faith, and connect to her on social media by visiting her blog: DebbieWWilson.com
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Debbie, I absolutely loved your post! Your examples were excellent. These are questions we all have. I had one this morning as I was reading in the Old Testament. One of those, “How could God do that?” … Like a parent to a child, because He’s God and He knows best. And we rest in that trust.
Thank you, Christy. I love the gentle way the Lord showed me how little I understand. 🙂
Great analogy, Debbie. Love the chicken salad story. I think we jump to assumptions in our limited understanding more than we realize. Whether Bible stories from the O. T. or a restaurant dish. So certainly the same applies to how we view God and His goodness. Thank you for such a beautiful reminder. I’m remembering this, “…my perfect and loving Father also has good reasons for His laws and ways of running the world.”
Karen, I tend to be one who “leans on my understanding.” Which is exactly what we’re told not to do. I must constantly acknowledge my Father knows best.
God stops and nothing and uses everything to teach us and to get our attention. Debbie, I always appreciate the truth you share and the way you make it so accessible for me.
Thank you, Michele. I always profit from reading your thoughts.
Debbie what a beautiful post. Love it.
I always say my questions are going to disappear the moment I see Him. It won’t matter.
Amen! Debbie, that is a wonderful hope to hold on to.
Isn’t it beautiful when God teaches us important lessons about Himself through ordinary means? Like a salad, no less?!
Loved this post Debbie!
Thank you for sharing Patricia!
Rachel, I love how He uses what’s before us just as He used Moses’ staff.
Thanks for this Debbie!! I found this very helpful and refreshing!
Thank you, Bethany. Blessing, my friend.
Very true, when I was in God’s glory of heaven on my near death experience, questions just didn’t matter!
Great post!
Thank you.
Jennifer
Wow, Jennifer. I can only imagine what that would be like. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie, that was a wonderful read. Logical and lovely!!!