When We’re Not
Doing what everyone one else is doing
Invited to the party
Picked first in the kickball lineup
Promoted for the job you’ve worked hard for
Asked to be in a wedding
The lead role in the play
Seen as the prettiest, smartest, most popular
Chosen to play on the starting team
Included in the group text
Asked to a dance
Getting the likes, follows, comments you want
And feeling like God’s plan is not going so great…
Recently I was asked if I ever got lonely because I didn’t do the things everyone else did.
“Of course I did! I still do!”
This question popped into my head.. How do we handle when we’re not and what does God think about it? If He is good and He is in control of all things, and we believe that, how do we handle when we’re not ______?
Not good enough in the world’s eyes
1. When we’re not, God is good
This took me a long time to really truly believe and I didn’t realize that until “Good, Good Father” came out and I couldn’t sing it.
Despite our thoughts, circumstances, or desires.. God is good. His Goodness never changes and our opinion has no effect on it. His Goodness is not an opinion. Chocolate might be good to me, but bad to my best friend. Is the chocolate still good or is it just chocolate? God is good whether we believe it or not. Whether we think it or not.
God’s Goodness is absolute truth.
So whether we’re not invited to the party or chosen to play on the starting team, our God is good and in all things He works everything together for the good of those who love Him according to His Purpose. (Romans 8:28)
One of my middle school teachers would answer every question we would ask during our lesson saying “I will never leave you astray.” She meant that she would answer the questions we had through the lesson she was teaching. To this day, that statement has taught me so much about God. He will never leave me astray. He will always teach me what is needed through the lesson He is providing. He does it for all of us.
Whether that’s when we’re not doing what everyone else is doing or when we’re not asked to be in the wedding we always thought we’d be in, God is good. He will never leave us astray and He will always teach us. When we’re not to the world, we have the opportunity to become more like Christ. It’s how we choose to handle it.
2. When we’re not, God cares
God cares about our desires
God cares about our anxiety and our burdens
He wants us to come to Him when we’e not included in the group chat or invited to the party. When we run to the things of the world, they only satisfy us for a little while but they only leave us craving more of the world. Satan will always leave us empty handed.
But when we run to God, when we cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), we will be satisfied with good and beautiful things (Psalm 103:5) and we will crave more of Christ because we are satisfied, not empty. We will crave more because we are full.
When we’re not getting all the likes, comments and followers we want or we’re not picked first in the kickball lineup, God cares about us. He cares about everything in our lives. He sees our hurt and He wants us to know that those things will only satisfy us for a moment but He will satisfy us for eternity.
When we’re not to the world, we have the opportunity to lean on Jesus because He cares for us. And we are everything to Him. It’s how we choose to handle it.
3. When we’re not, God has better plans
All through the Bible it’s constantly reminding us that God’s plans are better for us. Better than any plan we can ever dream of.
Typically when we think we’re supposed to be doing something and it doesn’t happen, it’s because God has another plan. When we’re not promoted for the job we’ve worked so hard for or don’t get the lead in the play, God has better plans for us. The plan for that promotion or the lead is better for someone else.
God is good and He cares for us. Because of that, He has better plans for us than we can ever imagine. He sees the big picture when we can only see a small snapshot of the days around us. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next hour but God knows every single thing that will happen in the next century. Don’t you think we can trust Him when we’re not seen as the prettiest, smartest and most popular in the moment or when we’re not asked to the dance?
I think we can.
My favorite verse is Ecclesiastes 7:13 “Consider the work of God- who can straighten out what He has made crooked?”
I think this is my favorite because I’m very logical minded. It makes sense to me.. what He has planned cannot be changed. Consider all He’s done, He’s done so much.. why would we want to change anything He has made. He is good, He cares for us and He has better plans for us. Who can, or even wants to, change what He has planned? When we’re not to the world, we have the opportunity to trust Jesus because He has better plans than we can ever imagine. It’s how we choose to handle it.
Remember when you’re not, you’re everything to Jesus.
Xo Amy