Until the Fog Lifts

Independent, ambitious, and adventurous…that’s George Bailey. He was a dreamer with goals—-many goals. But as life goes sometimes, George’s plans would never be fulfilled. Instead of his dream of traveling the world, George got married, inherited a bank with an unconventional business model, stayed in the town where he grew up and met his wife, and began raising his four kids. So, when a mistake threatened his livelihood on top of everything else, George contemplated suicide.

But thankfully for George, an angel saved him by giving him a glimpse of what life would be like if he were not around. It was dismal. The town was practically destroyed, virtually unrecognizable from what it looked like in reality.

We know the ending to this story in It’s a Wonderful Life. George – having been clearly shown the value of living – begs the angel to return to his normal life, gets his wish, and proclaims his steadfast and renewed love for his wife, kids, and the people of Bedford Falls.

Not What We Envisioned

Life doesn’t always turn out the way we envisioned, does it? Our hopes and dreams may never come to pass. Wishes and desires for good things – like children, work, or a spouse – are delayed, perhaps even for a lifetime. Maybe you have been praying for something and God continues to say no, and this hope deferred, like the proverb says, has made your heart sick (Proverbs 13:12).

Unlike the fictional tale It’s a Wonderful Life, we don’t get a glimpse of what could have been. Actually, we don’t even get a hint. And I’m not going to tell you that life is wonderful. It may actually be difficult. But here’s what I do know to be true: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

One day we will see God in glory and know his purposes. We will “get it.” We will understand why children were delayed and why we were never healed. But until then, we see dimly, as if through a thick fog. We walk by faith and not by sight. And though our plans are many, the Lord directs our steps where we do not see (Proverbs 16:9).

Waiting, Longing

New Year’s Day is only a few short months away and you may already be lamenting about this current year that has come and almost gone with what felt like so many unanswered prayers. 2017 may be filled with “no’s.” It may be another year of unanswered prayers, of waiting, of longing. It may be another year of pain and sorrow. But our God is not only holy, majestic, and just, he is “our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). He is our near, intimate, involved, loving Father. Because he is our Father, we can continue to ask and pray. Because he is near, because he has given us “the Spirit of his Son,” our hearts can cry, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4-6)

God our Father is perfectly loving. He is guiding, directing, protecting, and laying down boundary lines for our good and his glory. He is leading us through the joys and the sorrows (Lamentations 3:37-38, 1 Timothy 6:15). These lines aren’t about our present state, but instead about what it will lead to: a beautiful inheritance (Psalm 16:6).

Give and Take

And we know that we can trust God because he showed his infinite love for us when he sent his only Son to Calvary. Unlike us, Jesus wasn’t walking through fog. He knew exactly where he was headed, and he endured it to the end. As a result of this sacrificial death, we know he is love. We can draw near to him in confidence. He beckons us to come, taste, and see that he is good (Psalm 34:6).

So as we’re drawing to the close of the current year and with a new year fast approaching we ask with the assurance that the Lord is good, he is our Father, and he is loving. In the mystery of his providence, the Lord gives and takes away. But with Job we will proclaim, “Blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

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