This week in Sunday School our kids learned all about Job and the suffering he went through. The focus of the lesson this week was that even though sometimes bad things happen God is always in control. The kids learned all about how no matter what happens in life it all fits into God’s good plan.
This afternoon as I thought over that lesson I looked back on the past few days that we have gone through.
On Wednesday August 10th Dusty came home with a headache. That is nothing really unusual since he just got a pair of sports goggles and he is still adjusting them. Wednesdays he stays out late with the guys playing Amtgard so he usually is hungry, tired, and has a slight headache when he comes home.
Thursday he woke up feeling off, his head still hurt and he just didn’t feel well at all. However, being the guy that he is he decided to push through and go on into work. It was later that afternoon he shared a picture on his Instagram of it being 103 degrees INSIDE the workshop he was working in. Again, the headache and feeling crummy didn’t seem like anything outside of the ordinary because it was hot, he probably didn’t drink enough water, and he was tired. So once he got home he ate a bit and went to bed, with both of us thinking he would be better in the morning.
Friday rolled around and he was not better. In fact he was worse. Finally, he made the choice to stay home and try to fight off the cold we were both sure he had. Fridays are the day that I am out and about all day so he had a perfect opportunity to rest and recover in a quiet, calm house. While I am not sure how much rest he actually got I do know this is also the day his fever spiked the highest. And that should have been my first clue something was really wrong. But because we are both stubborn the doctor was not ever something that hit our radar.
Saturday came and went much like Friday. We alternated between meds trying to keep his fever under control and tried for him to get as much rest as possible but he just wasn’t getting any better. This was by far the worst cold I had ever seen. By Sunday morning, when he still wasn’t feeling better I was done. I was cranky and tired of him being sick because I needed help and I was tired of doing it all alone. (I am sure I am the only one who has ever felt that way though right?)
When I got to church on the 14th I got the usual questions about why the kids and I were there but Dusty was missing. After consulting with a dear friend who is also a medical professional it was decided that I really needed to take Dusty in to be seen somewhere. And then I was told to go. I was informed my kids would be cared for and I was to take him to the ER right away. So I did. And just a few short hours later we were being admitted to the hospital with a fairly serious case of pneumonia and a slew of other tests being run.
Throughout the whole process I just kept thinking about the amount of time that was being taken off work, the insanely large bills that would be hitting my mailbox any day now, and the extra burden that was being put on others as they cared for our children and the other responsibilities that we had to put off. And at no point over the 4 days did I stop and think that God was in control of this situation and He would take care of things if I would just get out of the way and let him.
Its easy to see God having His hand in all the good things that go on . When a new life is brought into the world that baby is a miracle from God. When a new job comes into play we have been blessed. If we come into some type of unexpected money God must have had some way of bringing it about.
But when we fall in to hard times we are quick to jump to the conclusion that God has abandoned us. That we are no longer loved or under God’s protection. We ask questions like “Why me?” and “What have I done to deserve this?” But the reality is that we are living in a time and a place where bad things happen. And often times we believe that if there is something bad happening God must not have any control over it. However, when we read in Job we see that God was in complete control over everything that he went through. And in the end, Job drew that much closer to the Lord through his trials and his sufferings.
Genesis 50:20 tells us that what is meant for harm God will ultimately use for our good. And in Matthew 6 we are told that God cares for the birds and the plants and makes sure they have everything they need so why do we thing he would do any less for us. You see, over the course of the last week the one thing I have really come to see is that as long as I get out of the way and let God be God He is going to make sure that things are taken care of. Sure, it may not (and usually isn’t) be done the way that I thought it should be or would have done it. But usually that is because God has handled things in a much better way than I could have ever imagined.
A Wise Woman in Progress 
It's hard to accept this lesson sometimes! I know I struggle with always trusting God. Great post!
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Yes, I totally do! I'm a Type A control freak, and I have SUCH a hard time remembering that God is ultimately in control. Of course, once I do let things go and let God take over, things always turn out much better than I imagined!
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so hard to let go sometimes. especially when we are sure we absolutely “have it” Mariespreading-joy.org
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God is always good even in the hard times : ) im lgad ive learned this sooner then later
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Oh to have the patience and trust of Job. He was a true superhero!
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I'm glad that God is always in control. There have been times in my life where I think, “I would do this differently.” But then months or years down the road, I realize that I'm glad I was NOT in control.
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