9 Reasons Why God Might Not Rescue You - Part I

“For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within,” (2 Cor. 7:5). 

The New King James translation of this verse uses the painfully descriptive phrase “hard pressed” to describe Paul’s trials. “We were hard pressed on every side.” The origin of this phrase comes from the practice of squeezing a fruit or vegetable (grapes, olives) to extract its juice.


Some days (weeks, months, seasons, years) I feel hard-pressed. Like life has me between a mortar and pestle and is pounding me into fine dust. I know you can relate, because I’ve heard your stories.

You sweat and groan and weep and rage and cannot find relief. The intense pressure doesn’t stop. You plead for rescue, yet the vise of life’s circumstances squeezes tighter and tighter until you think you might scream, and sometimes you do. “Why doesn’t God rescue me?” you cry, and the question echoes back. “Why?”

I believe there are at least nine reasons why God sometimes chooses not to rescue us. If you’re feeling hard-pressed today or know someone who is, I invite you to prayerfully consider these reasons and ask the Lord to show you which might apply to your situation.

Why God Chooses Not to Rescue Us 

1. We don’t believe he can.
God works in response to faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please him. For God to answer our prayers, we “must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Our lack of faith can be a huge hindrance, not because God can’t overrule our faithlessness, but because he won’t. He never forces faith on someone. Thankfully, all it takes is the faith of a mustard seed to invite God to work in our lives. It's not how much faith we have, but in whom our faith rests that matters.



2. We have sin in our lives .
We cannot willfully choose to disobey God (Is. 59:2) and expect him to bless us. As human parents, we withhold blessings from our children when they rebel against us. God often does the same. More important than health, wealth, and happiness is whether we have a right relationship with God. He’ll often use difficult circumstances to help us realize how much we need him.

3. We need to learn to trust him. 
Our faith begins small and increases with every challenge. Like a muscle, our confidence in God’s power grows stronger the more we exercise it. Trials, heartbreaks, and circumstances beyond our control force us to turn to our all-powerful God (2 Cor. 1:9). Every time we acknowledge our weakness and see him act on our behalves, our faith grows. Before long, we have a long list of answered prayers that makes it easier and easier to trust him.

4. He knows that a rescue wouldn’t be best. 
So often we just want OUT of a difficult situation. We’re not interested in what’s best in the long term, we want relief now. I remember when my daughter wore braces. Every month the orthodontist would tighten the wires on her teeth so much that her teeth would ache for days. If you asked her during this painful time if she wanted her braces removed, she would have said, “YES!”

Her orthodontist knew, however, that while taking off her braces would have ended her temporary suffering, it would have interfered with her longterm health and happiness. The same is true of many of our trials. The apostle Paul knew this when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).

5. There’s a lesson we need to learn or a character quality we need to develop because of this situation. 

When my husband lost his job, I learned that God is our provider. When I cared for a baby with colic and another with constant ear infections, I learned patience, kindness, and unselfishness. When I worked with difficult coworkers, I learned to see them through Jesus’ eyes, not my own. Instead of asking Why? when we encounter difficulty, what if we asked What?, as in, What can I learn from this situation (James 1:3)?

Please join me next time to read four more reasons why God might not rescue us. To ensure that you don't miss it, if you haven't yet subscribed, now might be a good time.





Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.
 

 

 

To register to win a FREE Kindle Fire loaded with books, including my new 5-minute devotional, Hungry for God . . . Starving for Time, click HERE.

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT 

FOR THE BUSY WOMAN IN YOUR LIFE?

May I tell you about my new book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women?

 Today's women want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.

You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:

• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray? 
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me? 
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit? 

Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day. Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you. 

 

If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe? I'll send you twice-weekly 5-minute devotions to help nourish your soul. 
Because women need to connect with God in the craziness of life. 

Enter your email address and VALIDATE the Feedburner email sent to your inbox.



Delivered by FeedBurner

Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.