What in the World? – #66

Have you ever walked in on someone doing something that you can’t help but yell, “What in the world are you doing?!” 

My kids were home from school last week for spring break. Over and over again, I found them in some sort of creative play that made full sense to them, but none to me. For example, hiding in our large, nasty and dirty trash cans outside. Or dipping their head in cold water. Or shooting those little melty beads out of straws. Or filling easter eggs with water and trying to prank me by opening them. Or going from nicely using water paints to filling the water bowl with shredded paper and playing in it!

You may think that I don’t watch my kids, I promise that I do! It just can quickly go south into ideas that are completely acceptable in a child’s mind, just not in mom’s. 

These are funny reasons that we say, “What in the world are you doing?” but what about the not so funny reasons? 

Have you ever walked through a situation in life where your initial reaction is, “What in the world?” 

Cancer. What in the world?

Adultery. What in the world?

Addiction. What in the world?

Freak accident that leaves your spouse disabled. What in the world?

Loss of a child. What in the world?

Foster care. What in the world?

Suicide. What in the world?

Financial ruin. What in the world?

Being wrongly accused. What in the world?

Life is full of “What in the world?” situations. There is no escape for any human. We will all have those moments that rock us to our core, that leave us breathless and barely hanging on.

What in the world? How do we make sense of it? 

Some people that we love are going through a “What in the world” situation right now. We wish we could fix it. We wish we could take the hurt away. We can’t. And it has left us asking God, 

What in the world are you doing? 

We want answers. We want to see the full picture. We want to know the outcome so that we can breathe easy and go on living. 

Instead, we are waiting.

In Matthew 26, there are two storylines happening. There is the storyline of evil. The chief priests and elders are bent on killing Jesus. They will stop at nothing to have him crucified. 

There is also a redemption storyline happening. 

This one is harder to see, because what good could come from Jesus dying? It is also harder to see because the disciple’s minds, and likewise our human minds, can’t grasp that in order for Jesus to be king, he must suffer and he must die. 

It doesn’t make sense.

What in the world are you doing, God?

So in Matthew 26, there’s this mind blowing dichotomy going on. There is the evil plot happening and then there is this beautiful redemption plan of our Lord. And the fact that the two of those can co-exist is just crazy, but the true mind blowing thing about this is that God, in all His Sovereignty and all of His greatness and all of His omniscience, brings the two together. 

And the evil plan, the plan where the rulers and elders think they are going to win, the plan where Satan thinks he is going to win is totally undone by the plan of our awesome God. 

The redemption plan wins because what Satan meant for evil, God can turn to good. 

The situation that seemed like, “What in the world?” is actually the situation that brings redemption. 

It brings hope.

It brings peace.

It brings joy.

It brings life. 

God’s plans will never be thwarted. They are unstoppable. God’s plans are perfect, they are for our good and they are for His glory.

What situation are you facing today that has you asking, “What in the world, God?” You are allowed to ask Him that, by the way! He can handle your questions, your fears, your doubts. 

Can all you see in your situation is the evil? Can all you see is hopelessness? Can all you see is fear? Can all you see are the “what-ifs?”

Are you waiting? Waiting for the pain to let up? Waiting to see what your next move will be? Waiting for the resolution? 

Go to God. Cry out to Him. Trust Him. Just go to Him. 

Maybe the “What in the world?” situation is just the situation God has you walking through to bring you redemption, hope, peace, joy and life. 

God will not let you down.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

God, we don’t understand you sometimes, but we trust you. 

Here are two songs to remind us that even when we can’t see it, God’s still working and that our God will never fail.

Get your worship on…it’s amazing how worshiping can release our fears so that we can walk in trust.