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Life can come at us like a meandering stream or a fire hose and everything in between. Most of us try to be prepared to some degree for each day and also for the unexpected.  Unfortunately, the unexpected by its very nature can upend us, birth questions, stir up doubts, and lead us down rabbit trails. Perhaps the most common question is “why” or “why did this happen to me?”

That question tends to be fraught with ambiguous answers that are not helpful. We live in a crazy world where chaos, disease, accidents, crime, natural disasters, and more are not unusual. We can be lulled into believing we don’t live in a dangerous world at times despite the reality that it often is. Then someone drives through a stop sign and we get knocked off our bicycle flying through the air crashing onto the hood and into the windshield of the car. Our injuries are traumatic and we are changed forever.

We are a good employee and work hard for a business, organization, or company and without warning are told our services are no longer needed. How could that be? Wasn’t I invaluable and skilled in numerous areas? Why me? 

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We’ve been eating healthy and exercising regularly for years and at a routine medical appointment a blood test comes back abnormal and we’re referred to various specialists and our future feels less certain than it did minutes before.

We’ve devoted our lives to trying to make a good family life and train our children to be equipped for the world they are entering into, teaching them about what is good and what is evil, what is risky behavior and what is not. We’ve monitored TV, video games, phone use, and friends but one afternoon we discover one of our children has made a series of bad choices with consequences you cannot protect them from.

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Far too often in cases like these and others we wonder where God is and why He allowed this to happen if He loves us. What kind of God is He?

Our awareness blurs out the reality that God didn’t intend our world to be this way but the choices of mankind at the outset put in motion an unseen war we live in the midst of between evil and good. The ebb and flow of our daily lives veils our perception of that and if we are generally law-abiding, responsible persons that we can avoid many of these things.

Even the process of aging and its impact on us little by little over time is a part of that story we are living in.

So, where is God?

The answer is one we may too often miss. He is right there with us and for us with one provision after another before we even know we need it. He doesn’t keep us from all harm, disease, disappointment, disaster, heartache, pain, grief, and brokenness but He provides for us out of his love for us before we even know we need the provision.

I know because I have seen it time and time again over my lifetime and a few days ago I had a graphic example that immediately reminded me of that truth.

Our rainy, humid, steamy, hot weather caused our front door to stick and not open easily and then not open at all. We knew as fall approached that would naturally alleviate the problem but were reminded it was a safety hazard despite having other entry and exit doors. 

To that end, my husband diagnosed what seemed needed and began to work on the problem. Not far into it he recognized he needed help to resolve what was wrong. Several calls were made to get someone to provide that help to no avail. I suggested he call a friend to see if he might know of anyone and the friend not only was home but offered to come help within the hour. And on his end, he prayed before coming that God would show him how to help.

The result? Various issues were identified and resolved and soon the door was working perfectly by 5:30 PM and we were so grateful for the provision of this help. What we didn’t see then was the significance of the timing of this provision.

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Shortly after 3AM my husband rolled out of bed while asleep and sustained an injury causing a wound that would not stop bleeding. It necessitated a 911 call for medical assistance and guess what? That newly fixed door was where they had easiest access to enter. God provided in advance out of his love and care for us.

But He didn’t stop there. As the squad was at the door I discovered a good neighbor was sitting on our porch. He had been up with his dog and heard the squad backing into our driveway. He wanted to check on us and then offered to drive me to the ER and wait with me there and see my husband and I got back home.

It had been an emotionally, physically, mentally exhausting few hours and again God provided in a way that could not have been a coincidence.

The story could go on but these key points are enough to share the powerful truth that God’s love and provision is there in seen and unseen ways when life comes at us with something unexpected that unsettles and upends us. 

Will we recognize the provision when it comes or miss it or complain that it wasn’t the provision that we wanted? 

God never fails.

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