One of the most common phrases in my parental vocabulary is, “Because I told you so!”
As their mother, I expect my children to fall in line with my decisions because I will always have their best interests and safety in mind. Whether they fully comprehend it or not, I pray they will realise the hard decisions, curfews, and many “No’s” were meant as safety nets for them. I want them to trust my wisdom.
Later, I hope they will know it was to protect them and keep them from harm’s way—not because I want to be controlling, super protective, or an authoritative dictator.
Of course, we have had tears and meltdowns, bouts of stony silence, and heartfelt pleas for reconsidering certain decisions. But many times, they have come back to us and said they are glad we denied them permission, stopped them from doing something, or refused to let them go somewhere even though “everyone else is going.”
Parenting and the Sovereignty of God
As my children would say, there are scores of requests we turned down, scaled down, or put on hold. But there is also an impressive list of things to which we have given our consent, as they grow older, wiser, and more responsible. We hope they will see all this was for their good.
God calls all of us to trust in his wisdom
Trusting God’s wisdom and sovereignty is like that, isn’t it? But there is a reversal of roles. I am the impatient child, placing my registry of requests before my Heavenly Father.
I bring my long list of prayers and complaints that my requests are not answered the way I wanted them to be; certainly not within the timeline I was expecting.
Lamenting the Felt Absence of God
What is holding the Lord back? Why does he not answer me when I call unto him? For what reason do I need to walk through the deep waters and the scorching fire? Why does he take so long to answer when he can do it in the twinkling of an eye?
Why does it feel like he restrains his mighty hand, instating of stretching it out? Where is the justice for which I long? Why is there so much heartache, tears, pain, sorrow, and uncertainty? Where are you, O Lord, my God?
Yet, in spite of the swirling thoughts, numbing fear, shifting uncertainty, and extended timelines, I know my God is sovereign and I can trust him.
I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. His favour surrounds me, his goodness and mercies follow me. He has lifted me from the pit of despair and set me on the Rock. He has supplied my needs and provided for me.
Remembering the Goodness of God
The Lord has wiped my tears and sent his Word to heal me. Even though I walked through the valleys, there have been mountain tops of praise. There have been nights of weeping, but there have been mornings of joy!
Trusting God’s wisdom is not expecting him to satisfy all our desires.
My gratitude journals testify to the many answers to prayers I received from him—far beyond what I could ask or imagine. There are also blank spaces in my prayer journal that I would like to fill with praise reports for answered prayer, sooner rather than later. But I am learning to trust God to do what he deems best.
Taking the Posture of Trusting God’s Wisdom
God calls all of us to trust in his wisdom, not merely his power (Prov. 3:5-6). It is our mandate, calling, and privilege. It implies surrender to his purposes. We have the freedom to come to his throne of grace with assurance, knowing he will meet us at our point of need. So he calls us to trust him because his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55:8-9).
Trusting God’s wisdom is not expecting him to satisfy all our desires, wishes, and requests. It is a conscious decision to believe and trust in his love and authority to do what is best for us, even when his answers and timelines are not what we expect.
There is an unpredictable tension between the asking and the receiving.
Recognising God as a good Father calls us to remember that he responds to us. He attends to our needs and requests in love and with eternal wisdom. Instead of merely granting every request we have, God’s ways are infinitely beyond ours. He is always working for our eternal good. There is always a good purpose in the approval, delay, or denial.
God is not a genie who waves a wand to grant us our requests. Yet we know that nothing is impossible for the Lord.
Embracing the Tension
Usually, we are so caught up in the moment that we cannot see beyond the deferred answer. There is an unpredictable tension between the asking and the receiving. In that tension lies our great challenge.
Through the process of trusting and waiting, God is shaping us. Either we become bitter, hard-hearted, and lose faith—filled with self-pity and misery. Or we become receptive and discerning, moulded through brokenness, full of faith as he works in us to become more Christlike.
God’s wisdom is fully expressed in Jesus Christ
We may never know the answers to all our questions, this side of heaven, or why some of our prayers did not receive the answer we wanted. Yet God calls us to trust, honour, obey, and remain faithful to his Word. We live with eternal clarity in mind that overcomes any immediate uncertainty.
Rejoicing in Christ, the Wisdom of God
God’s wisdom is fully expressed in Jesus Christ, who is the chief reason to trust him (Eph. 1:7-10, 3:7-13).
God’s Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). So Jesus is not unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked for God to take the cup of suffering from him. Yet he trusted his Father’s wisdom, for the sake of our salvation (Luke 22:42, Heb. 12:2).
Such is his goodness to us that made the apostle Paul say, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32)
The loving wisdom of God that orchestrated our salvation should calm our questions, still our storms, satisfy our hearts, and fill us with unquenchable hope so that we remain steady in Christ, through whom we call God ‘Abba Father’, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Rom. 8:15, Col. 2:3).
