When God Denies Us Things

I think it's safe to say many Christians have felt the sting of something being denied them. You have a legitmately good desire and it seems God has said no and shut the door on it. In those moments I tend to think something like, "This doesn't feel like good God. what the heck!?" You can be tempted to doubt God's goodness when things don't work out like you want. But, as I've had to remind myself recently, there is a vast chasm between what I think is good and what God says is good for me.

John Piper gave an illustration once about how his son, when he was younger, wanted a cracker from the cupboard. When Piper went to the cupboard he saw that the whole box had gotten moldy and needed to be thrown out and so instead he gave him something else to snack on. He recalled how in giving his son something different, he had a real hard time explaining to his child that the cracker was bad for him and the other treat was better. The child was unable to understand that the cracker wasn't good for him at all. Aren't we the same way? We see God denying certain things and we are so convinced that he is being cruel and sadistic. We think we know what the good is and if it's denied us, we pout. The truth of the matter is that God is protecting us from harm. He loves us too much to give us what we want--if it's no good.

In Matthew 7, Jesus pointed us to how God displays His goodness through His gifts: "[W]hich one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (9-11) Applying Jesus' teaching to our situation, we should note that it is perfectly legitimate to have desires. We should make sure that they are in keeping with the Bible's teaching, but desires are natural and can even lead us to growth in Christ. But we should never assume that what we think is "good" is what God thinks is best for us. Just like Piper's child, I don't see things as I should, I am so convinced that the fuzzed, infested cracker is good, and in frustration I ask, "If my Father was so good, wouldn't He give this to me?"

Given my fallen state, I should hold every desire with the knowledge that my perception of what is good is tainted. Desiring to have what we perceive as being good is what got Adam and Eve in trouble in the first place. To avoid their mistake--empowered by the Gospel, I need to trust that God is a good father, who really does know what's best for me; and if he denies me something in the moment he's protecting me from harm.

So maybe you are struggling with being denied something--the job you wanted, the raise, the promotion, a relationship, whatever. But in your struggles, don't ignore the central truths of what we know about God. See, when it comes down to it, the struggle has less to do with the particular issue at hand and much more to do with the crucial question: Are you going to choose to believe that God is your Father and He is perfect in wisdom and wont deny you ANY good thing?

There comes a point when we need to stop gazing after the thing denied and turn our hearts toward the Father who is the very essence of goodness Himself. Look how lavishly he displays His love in the Gospel: He gave up His only perfect Son for you. Do you really think that He would hand you a stone today?