"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
-Romans 8:28
Back when I was in college, I worked at my school's technology store. The store mainly sold computers to students and faculty. One summer, I was working at the store when an incoming freshmen girl and her mom came in. I went over to help them, thinking it would just be a typical computer sale. They let me know that she was looking for a computer that she would use over the course of her college career. I asked her the usual set of questions that I would normally ask to gauge what computer would be best suited for her. I don't remember exactly how she answered the questions, but I recall that she had no real need for the model she was asking for- the MacBook Pro. Despite me thinking this, it was my job to make sure the customers were happy, so I went along with her request.
After determining the computer she wanted, I asked her which configuration of that computer she wanted. The main difference in the configurations is the storage space, so I asked her how much storage space she thought she would need. As was the case with most customers, she said she didn't know how much storage space she needed. I proceeded to go through the next series of actions that I normally did, which included looking at the storage space on her current devices. To my surprise, she was using almost 500GB of storage space on her current computer. I asked her if she knew what was taking all of this space, to which she again replied that she didn't know. I opened her computer settings, and found out that she had a huge quantity of photos and movies on her hard drive.
I spoke with the girl and her mom for the next couple of minutes, trying to determine whether she wanted to get the MacBook Pro model with the most storage space. The mother clearly didn't want to spend the money on that model, since it costs a few hundred dollars more than the other models. The girl seemed insistent that she "needed" the extra storage space. Knowing that the mother would ultimately be the one paying for the computer, I tried my best to convince them that the girl could use an external hard drive to store all of her photos and movies, but the girl claimed that this would be an inconvenience that she couldn't live without. After some more back and forth, the mother finally decided to buy her the computer that she wanted.
You might think that this is just a story of a spoiled girl who got something she probably didn't need or deserve. To some extent, that conclusion is true. However, as I reflected on this experience, I realized that this girl's mother teaches us something profound about God. The mother was very reluctant to buy her daughter the computer that she wanted, but the mom ultimately decided to buy it anyway. Even though the girl did nothing to deserve anything from her mother, her mother still treated her well.
How does this relate to God? Just like that girl, we all have done nothing to deserve anything good from God. However, just like the mother, God treats us as His children. Even when it hurt, God spared nothing to save us. However, there is one difference between God and that girl's mom. God works everything for our good, even if it doesn't make us feel good. The girl's mom did something that was both for the girl's good and comfort. The computer was something good that the girl needed for her schoolwork. Having an expensive computer with the maximum storage space was not necessarily for her good as much as it was for her comfort. She only wanted the storage space because it would make it comfortable for her to manage her pictures and movies.
Unfortunately, God doesn't always work for both our good and comfort. There are many examples in the Bible of people that God allowed to go through times that were not comfortable, but ended up being good for them. I've been reading (on and off) the early books in the Bible where God leads the Israelites out of the Egypt. It's obvious to readers like us that this was for their good, since they escaped the harsh conditions of slavery in Egypt. However, time and time again, the Israelites complain to God about their situation. Why? The Israelites were free but they weren't comfortable. They didn't feel good. The desert was harsh and God's laws were numerous. What the Israelites failed to realize was that even in their uncomfortable circumstances, God was working everything for their good.
God works everything for our good, even if it doesn't make us feel good. Often times we think that something that is good should also feel good. We easily complain like the Israelites in the wilderness. What's fascinating to me is that we should know from our experience that what is good doesn't always feel good. Think about exercise. Exercise is good for us, but it doesn't always feel good. Or think about food. The healthiest foods often don't taste the best. Why shouldn't the same be true of the rest of our lives? Be encouraged that even when things don't seem to be going well, God is always working for your good. One of the lines from the song "Good Good Father" gives us one more word of encouragement: "Cause You (God) know just what we need before we say a word."
-Smart
