Romans 8:28,
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
My son just graduated from high school! As predicted, the moment the school orchestra started playing the graduation march, tears streamed. Even as I type these words, the tune replays in my head and a knot forms in my throat.
You see, during the ceremony, I couldn’t help but marvel at God’s faithfulness over this past year.
Last spring as he was finishing his junior year, we unenrolled him from a wonderful Christian school that I loved and put him in public school for his senior year. No, I’m not a cruel mother. This decision was his choice – a choice of which I was not in favor and brought tremendous turmoil to my heart.
But then one morning during my quiet time, God seemed to speak through the text I was reading.
“Never limit God. Give Him room. Though God may seem to momentarily be moving in a direction that alarms you, He will make it work for good… Trusting God is easy when His will aligns with ours. But when His will leads to Rome [this new school ], will we patiently watch for the outcome of His will with joy? To do so is to display deep trust in God. God had it all under control, even in Rome.”*
God had leaned out of heaven and spoken personally, to me. While obedience would be hard, my anxiety lifted and peace filled my heart.
A year later, as I sat in the Raleigh Convention Center listening to all the graduates’ names called, I remembered my quiet time that morning. Though I had wrestled with God over this decision, in the end, I had surrendered to His will. Now I was able to remember all God had done during the last nine months. Tears again streamed.
Will only knew one person on the first day of school. In answer to prayer, God provided him with friends. Good friends.
One of my worries had been lunch. I was scared he’d have to eat alone. By God’s grace, he always had at least one friend with whom to go to lunch. Despite the 7:10am start time, he never complained. His grades were excellent. It had been a great year, maybe his best!
Trusting God is not always easy. Yet, if we’ll remember to make time to listen to His still, quiet voice, He will speak into our situations. He will not always tell us what we want to hear. But He will give us the power to obey Him – even when we do not like the assignment.
In the end, God will show Himself faithful; He will show Himself to be God Almighty. And He’ll open our eyes afresh to how personal and loving He is even when obedience is hard.
*Magnificent Prayer, Zondervan 2001; Nick Harrison, p.85