You can’t always fix it

This article is republished from Dianna Hobbs’ “Your Daily Cup of Inspiration,” one of the Top 100 blogs for women of faith. To get more inspiration like this, visit YourDailyCupOfInspiration.com.

First things first, Happy New Year! I greatly enjoyed my time of rest and replenishment during my holiday hiatus. I had a chance to celebrate the joyous season with family and be refreshed in the presence of the Lord. I missed you, and I am so happy to be back. Thank you for your kind words and all your love and support. We all need time to unplug every now and then, and I think it’s so important to stay in balance. I pray your holiday season was joyful and peaceful.

While on break, our family’s pet betta fish, Skittles, contracted an infection, and we treated him with fish antibiotics. He’s doing much better now and is no longer refusing to eat, though he is still a bit sluggish. Before last week, I didn’t even know fish antibiotics existed! You might have known that already. But anyway, our 13 year old son Kaleb, who loves fish and animals in general, did lots of research. He loves researching things. That’s how he found a way for us to help poor Skittles after the methods our local pet store experts suggested didn’t work.

I’ll admit, it felt good to be able to help our fish regain health, because it looked like he might not make it. So far so good. We’ll see how things go.

Daily Cup family, wouldn’t it be nice if we could identify simple and quick solutions to fix all our problems? Man, that would be great! I would love it if, with a little research, I could discover effective ways to stop pain and suffering and create favorable outcomes all the time. But life doesn’t work that way, does it? Sometimes, we don’t have the answers, and outcomes aren’t always ideal.

Friend, you can’t always fix it. None of us can.

“Every problem doesn’t have an easy solution. Life gets hard sometimes. But even when it’s rough, God is there.”

— Dianna Hobbs

In 2 Samuel 12:15-23, David’s outcome certainly wasn’t ideal. A child he fathered with Bathsheba got sick and died.  David pleaded with God to spare the child’s life. He laid on the ground all night, every night, covered in sackcloth—a symbol of grief—and refused to eat. Despite that, on the seventh day, the child passed away. The child’s death was the result of divine judgement because David had impregnated Bathsheba who was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, a noble and elite soldier in David’s army (v. 14). And David had Uriah killed in battle to cover up his wrongdoing.

After the child’s death, David said in verses 22-23, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Despite being hurt, David knew that he could not change the outcome, so he accepted it and moved forward. And sometimes, we have to do just that. Though, unlike David, we are under the covenant of grace, and our suffering isn’t the result of divine judgment (Thank God!), we can still learn something from David’s response to loss. When our prayers are not answered, and the outcome isn’t what we want it to be, we must move forward and trust God anyway.

While it is true that we must have faith in God to do the impossible, we must also accept that there are times when His will is not our way. His answer won’t be yes. We won’t escape suffering. He will allow us to go through hardships. And yet, His grace is sufficient, just as it was for the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9.

As I said at the beginning of this post, I think it’s so important to stay in balance—not just when it comes to life management but also in our walk of faith. While we expect miracles and breakthrough, we also should expect to go through trials. After all, Psalm 34:19 does tell us, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” That same Scripture also gives us this promise: “But the Lord delivers them out of them all.”

He will deliver from sickness. He will deliver from grief. He will deliver from lack. He will deliver from strongholds. He will deliver from whatever binds you. There is no limit to His power. And yet, we don’t get to dictate how or when God delivers.

So then, while we’re in the valley, whatever the conditions or circumstances of our lives may be, our testimony must remain the same: God is good, faithful, and all-wise all the time.

This year, I believe God has great things in store for you, and there are some blessings He will release. At the same time, He will not do everything you want. Everything won’t be easy, and some things you won’t know how to fix. But be encouraged. There will also be moments when God will surprise you and fix things you thought were irreparably broken. He will deliver.

To remind and reassure you that God will take care of you and deliver you in 2020 and beyond, I’m stirring Isaiah 46:4 GNT into your cup of inspiration, which says, “I am your God and will take care of you until you are old and your hair is gray. I made you and will care for you; I will give you help and rescue you.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, internalize this assurance from the word of God. Let it encourage you through the rough places as you cling to your faith in God’s promises. Expect the best. Expect deliverance. Expect God to show up in your circumstances.

Step out of fix-it mode and get into faith mode. That’s when you’ll see God fix the things you can’t.

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