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God's "Disappearing Act"

by David A. DePra

 
     One day when my son was a toddler, he had finished the
milk in his bottle. It was clear he wanted more. So I
took the bottle away from him with the intent of refilling it. But
he didn't understand. The minute I took it out of his hand he
began to cry. And things only got worse from there. I had to
round the corner out of his sight to get to the refrigerator. The
second I was out of his sight, he cried all the more. Only when
I reappeared did he understand what was happening. Then
he calmed down and was happy. He was now glad that I
did what I did for him.
     It is amazing how often the way we deal with our kids, and
the way they react, parallels the way God deals with US, and
the way WE react. Have you ever cried, or gotten mad,
because God took something out of your hand which
meant a lot to you? Have you ever assumed, in a lapse
of faith, that He was doing something unreasonable to you,
rather than doing something good for you? And then, when
God took your possession around the corner and out of
your sight, did you spiritually panic? Perhaps get fearful
or depressed? Sure. Probably everyone has. But then
were you amazed at how God suddenly appeared again,
with something able to feed and satisfy you all the more?
     It is a true spiritual principle: God never takes anything
away from us except to replace it with something better. But
the trouble is, we usually limit the replacement to something
natural. God may replace something which is temporal with
something spiritual. If He does, it may not seem to satisfy us
very much right now. But in the final analysis, we will end up
praising Him for it.
     Notice what my son really gave up; what I really took out of
his hand: An EMPTY bottle. It was of no use to him at all.
But because he was a child, he didn't know that. He had no
capacity to know it. All he knew was what he HAD. He had
no point of reference for what he didn't have. Indeed, he
didn't even know there were other possibilities.
     I don't have to know the facts about what God is doing to
trust Him. Faith is a rest in the fact that God knows. There are
many things in this life which God is going to do, but never
explain. There are many things God may allow, but never
justify to us. He may disappear around the corner, perhaps
even for years. Perhaps for the rest of our lives regarding
a certain thing. But we can be sure that He knows what is
best for us, and that in time, we will marvel at His wisdom and
love in doing things exactly the way He did them.

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