Trusting God When the Deal Falls Through
Trusting God.
Those two words alone are so difficult. When everything is going great, no problem. When everything is tough, really difficult. So what does it mean to trust God when plans fall through?
First, praise God that He knew we would struggle to trust Him, but He loved us so much anyway that He sent His only Son to pay the penalty of our sins and restore our relationship with Him!
When we know and remind ourselves of that amazing truth, it should call to mind Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” The Lord is a good Father. Paul reminds us of this truth in this verse – the greatest gift we could ever receive is Christ; therefore, it logically follows that the Lord will also graciously give us all things. The question becomes, what does “all things” mean?
When we want that house but don’t get it, it does not feel like we graciously received all things. When we are selling our home and an issue arises at the home inspection and the buyer backs out, it does not feel like we have been given all things. So how do we rectify this promise with our lived experience?
An article from Ligonier Ministries answers this way: “‘All things’ refers to the final, complete fruition of our redemption in glory. The gospel guarantees that we will be brought home to glory. It is by grace that we are saved from the consequences of our sin; the same grace of God in the gospel brings us home” (https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/all-things-rom-8-32).
This promise from Romans 8:32 is such a beautiful and precious promise – it has to do with the guarantee of our eternal state! We remember James 4:14, “What is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” In light of eternity, our earthly lives are but a vapor, a mist, a snapshot in time. Perhaps you’ve seen the rope example – take a long rope (50 feet) and color the very edge of it, maybe an inch, in black. That represents our life on earth. The entirety of the remaining rope represents how much greater our life in eternity is. Even the example falls short because we do not possess any material items that go on for eternity.
Before you wonder if I’ve missed the point of the topic, this is exactly how we deal with plans falling through and deals not coming to fruition. We look at it through the lens of eternity. It does not mean that, when hard things happen, we flippantly say “well remember, God loves you” as if hard things shouldn’t be hard. It is a call to remind ourselves and others, even in our lowest points, the Good News of the Gospel – that no matter the pains in this life, the defeats, the losses, the struggles, we have been secured for eternity by the life, death, and resurrection of a loving and merciful Savior!
The house you lost out on will one day crumble, but the Word of the Lord will remain forever. The plans you had that fell through are not a defeat but an intentional redirect from a good and loving Father.
So REJOICE, my brothers and sisters, even when hard moments come our way – for we serve a God who loves us so much that He sent His Son to bear our penalty for us and who will sustain us for eternity.
Is losing a house hard? Yes. Is having your sale fall through emotionally challenging?
Absolutely. In light of eternity, though, does it put those into perspective?