But just because he is a good father doesn’t mean everything will turn out the way we want it to. He sees multi-dimensionally, through time, space, and the complicated weave of relationships we have. We naively think we know what is best for us, but we only have a fraction of the intel to be able to discern that.

It’s unfortunate that we grow angry at God when life doesn’t go our way, mainly because our finite minds cannot conceive of the powerfully profound story he is weaving for us all. Just like a father of a two-year-old isn’t spoiling their fun by rescuing them from traffic, he is not holding out on you to spite you or bother you or thwart you. His motivation is love, and he has the sufficient knowledge to know how to shape you and prevent your own you-fueled disasters.

We learn this often in retrospect. In the moment we wonder why God is holding out on us, when, in reality, he is training our souls to hold more of him by showing us that things and fame and acclaim and “perfect” relationships make terrible idols. And when we look back at the NO he gave us, we thank him for not “listening” to our immature, ill-sighted request.

The goodness we seek is never within us. It is God himself. We cannot know joy apart from him. We may be sad that things haven’t turned out the way we envisioned, but be strengthened and encouraged! His connectivity to your life right now–what you see as thwarting–is actually love in action.

Remember, the haunting, scary time comes when we run from him and he disentangles himself from us (not because he wants to, but because we want him to). I believe this verse to be one of the most terrifying ones in the Bible: “God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done” (Romans 1:28b).

So instead, let’s give ourselves over to the One who can fill us to overflowing, who holds us during the perplexities of this fallen world, and knows far more about our state (and what is good for us) than anyone else.

Let’s surrender, trust, and wait.