Putting all your eggs in a hardship basket

My small group Bible study is going over this question and this question in of itself is a loaded one. My wheels are turning and my head is spinning as I flip through the Bible attempting to find answers. 

How would you try to relate the divine perfection of God to someone facing:
- Severe illness?
- Personal moral failure?
- Bereavement?
- Temporary loss of faith?
- Job loss?
- A broken relationship?

Wow.  Gulp... uhhhhh?  
I think anyone reading this has either A) gone through at least one of the above hardships or B) knows someone who has.  And this list is definitely not exhaustive.

This post is going to be an explosion of my thoughts as I try to make sense of this and I even thought to myself... perhaps I should just journal these thoughts privately.  But everyone benefits from hearing Scripture.  Not my words.  God's words.  Because God's words are truth and life.

The first thing that came to mind is the age old question that so many ask when facing hardships: Is God good?

When hardships happen, when relationships fail, when death looms, when failure consumes your heart, when children suffer, it seems a fair question to ask the God of the universe who holds such power, "God, are you really good?"

The Bible clearly states, yes.  God is good.
Psalm 34:8 
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Why do bad things happen to good people?  Well...we live in a broken world.  A sinful world.  A world where bad things will happen because people have the freedom to make bad decisions, which negatively affect themselves and others.  
If nothing bad ever happened... we would live in a perfect world.  What need would we have for a Savior if we lived in a perfect world?  

This next verse, one little word had a big impact on me.
Psalm 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!  You have given me relief when I was in distress.  Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

The little word relief stuck out to me as I was searching for a verse to help answer the question above.

People, myself included, tend to view God as their own personal genie... who they can call on at any time.  When bad things happen, when I am really hurting and could really use some good things in my life, now would be a good time to start praying "Dear God, I need this.  Dear God, I need that.  Dear God, life is really beating me down and I need you to take it all away."

Don't hear me wrong.  God is omnipresent and is readily available to those who seek Him.  And yes, it's absolutely acceptable to call on the name of the Lord in times of distress.  What's not acceptable is only using God in those moments of distress.  We are to praise God.  We are to worship God.  We are to thank Him for all He has done, for all He has provided us, for all He has taught us, in addition to calling on Him in times of hardship.  Just read the Psalms.  It's filled with David crying out to God in times of major distress.  But David did more than just cry out for help.  He acknowledged who God was, His power, His authority, His goodness.

The question of why do bad things happen to good people is a difficult one to answer.  I think everyone wants to hear: 
"Pray to God and He will heal your son of cancer."
"Pray to God and He will get your job back."
"Pray to God and He will wipe out all child abuse."

Yes, miracles happen.  Yes, God could absolutely do all of this.  But I don't believe we are meant to live in a world where all our prayers are answered in the way we'd like them to be answered.  Because our ways, while usually good intentioned, will always be flawed. God's ways, God's plans are perfect, regardless of the outcome we endure.  What matters is how we face those trials and how we respond to God.

God wants us to seek Him.  In all things.  And perhaps in the verse Psalm 4:1, the word relief does not mean, "God will fix everything and make it the way you want it to be." Perhaps the word relief does mean complete deliverance from the hardship, and be exactly what you were praying for, a miraculous healing of a disease, a broken relationship miraculously restored... but what if the word relief could mean something else?  What if relief means God giving you peace over the situation, no matter the outcome?  What if relief means accepting the hardship for what it is and moving forward as you seek to continue learning from God?

If you put all your eggs in the terminal illness basket...
If you put all your eggs in the broken relationship basket...
If you put all your eggs in a shattered career basket...

We are left with an empty hole within, we are left hungry, we are left in want... because we have put all we are, all we understand...everything... in that one broken moment that we cannot grasp to understand.
Psalm 34:10 says "The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."

I want to live my life in such a way that seeks the Lord in all things, good and bad, and who truly asks His will be done, not mine.  And that He would grant me exactly what I need in those moments no matter what His will is, even if it doesn't align with my desires.  And I would desire to respond in such a way that is glorifying and praise worthy to Him, no matter the outcome.

A few years ago, I was in a pretty dark place where I underlined tons of verses in Psalms that said things like, "Where are you God?  Why have you forsaken me?  Hear me, O God."  I wept many times as I read those verses.  In hind sight... I was putting all my eggs in the broken relationships basket and I felt utterly empty as it consumed me.  At times, it felt useless asking God to intervene.  

But what good did that do to focus on the brokenness?  I had failed to continue reading on in the Psalms where David writes of God's faithfulness, God's power, His love, His goodness.  
His relief...
His relief may not be what I had planned or what I thought was best.  His relief IS best.  His relief, in any way, shape or form, is what I want to focus on when I pray for help through a hardship.  Whether that is complete deliverance, or complete peace and acceptance.

O God, help shape my view of you as a God who knows what's best for my life.  Please shatter the picture I have of you as a magic genie who will answer prayers however I think is best.  Remind me of my constant need for you, my Savior and that Your will is perfect and divine.  Protect my thoughts and heart from being consumed by the idea of loss and rather focus my thoughts and heart on Your goodness, even in those moments of hardship.  Grant me your strength when my faith wanes and when I begin to question Your power and authority.  You have not left me.  You have not forsaken me.  You are good, God.