The God of All Things

Earlier during the week, I read a comment made by a grieving mother in response to an article published in CatholicStand.com about God's plan. The author was trying to make a point that though God doesn't always give us what we want, He will always give us what we need. The person who made the comment couldn't understand how this idea of God's providence fit into the immense suffering and death of a child. She wanted her child, but God thought that her needs are better served by voiding her motherhood! In the past, I had made several attempts to delve into this problem of unanswered prayers - I am a firm believer that there are no unanswered prayers. But then, how would you explain the agony of this mother, how is it that her prayers for her sick child are ever going to be answered?

Today I got a call from somebody I met at a retreat during the Lent. He told me that upon returning home from the retreat, one of the first things he found out was that he no longer had a job. He was unexpectedly let go from his job of ten plus years. Strange, I thought; here is a man who went to great lengths to worship God by attending a three day fasting retreat only to find out that his ability to earn bread for his family was taken away from him. My friend on the other end of the phone discerned how I felt and immediately told me to listen to the whole thing before I reach any conclusions. Since he worked in the medical profession, he was forced to work almost every weekends. He was on call all the time and even on those days when he was scheduled off, he ended up working. During the retreat, he was deeply touched by one of the speakers talking about Sabbath. He knew it would be impossible for him to get every Sunday off in his line of work, but he went ahead and asked God to help him to find a way to get at least a few Sundays off every month. So when he returned home and found out that he had lost the job, he immediately found the news ironic. He asked for a few Sundays off and God gave him off all seven days of the week. One of the things he came to find out soon was that none of the nearby hospitals were looking to hire in his area of expertise. With house payment, car payment and the older kid ready to hit the college, his wife's job wasn't enough. Though worried, his faith came in handy as he believed that God has a plan for him and his family. So he made good use of his time off and spent a lot of time in an Adoration chapel with the Lord. About two months went by and the financial reserves were depleting faster than he thought. Then one day, something inspired him to walk into a hospital nearby his house. Though he had no appointment, his request to meet with the human resources director was immediately granted. He explained his credentials to the HR director  and to his surprise, he got hired on the spot. The hospital didn't have a need for him at the time, but something told the HR director that he would be a good hire. So they created a position to hire him. Not only that, his starting salary and other benefits were much better than his previous job. Then came the icing - they didn't need him to work on Sundays, ever! He concluded by saying that God did indeed fire him from his previous job because God knew he was so accustomed to the place that he would never resign and look for another job. Then God gave him two months to get things in order - God first, family next, then everything else. In closing, he reached his destination, but the route he took to get there was the one he never envisioned. 

And I believe that the answer for the grieving mother's heartache also lies there - our plans often collide with God's plan and when it does our hearts break. Look at the Israelites for example. After 400 years of captivity, God answered the prayers of His people and they started a journey towards a land where milk and honey flows. Then they saw the Red Sea parting and as they walked across it they began praising God in celebration of His saving power. "Then Moses led Israel forward from the Red Sea, and they marched out to the wilderness of Shur. After traveling for three days through the wilderness without finding water, they arrived at Marrah, where they could not drink its water , because it was too bitter" (Exodus 15:22,23). The Israelites thought God answered their prayers and stepped off the Red Sea in hopes of reaching the promised land, but was greeted with the harshness of a desert. Instead of milk and honey, they found bitter water! That's how God worked yesterday, how He works today, and how He will work forever. 

Our God is the God of all things, not just some things. We can't expect Him to do just a few things for us, and we can't expect Him to just finish what we have started. He starts and He finishes according to His plan. We might plan for our immediate welfare, but God always plans for our ultimate good and that might involve not granting something we feel important at the moment. For a few lucky ones, like my friend I mentioned above, the revelation about his plan would come in a few months; for some, it would be a few years; for the Israelites, it took forty years; and for many, it would not come in this lifetime. But there will be a time when everything is made clear to each one of us. At that time, depending on how we reacted to the collapse of our plans, we would either praise Him for His brilliance or disparage ourselves for our lack of faith. "...Without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrew 11:6).