When Things Go Wrong
Have you ever had a bunch of stuff go wrong, all at the same time, and wondered why God let it happen? When things go wrong, you may even get angry at God.
When Things Go Wrong…
Like for instance, my grandma was diagnosed with leukemia in February. We decided to make the trip to see her over spring break, but then they cut her life expectancy down from 4 months to two weeks, so my family altered our plans. I left that weekend and drove the 10 hours from Texas to Iowa to see her. I arrived late Saturday night and was going to see her Sunday morning, but she passed away around 3am. I never got to love on her before she passed away.
The following week was spring break and my family was going to meet me in Iowa, only our car broke down on the way. They were only in Oklahoma and had to turn around and go home. All our vacation plans fell to pieces. I was stranded in Iowa without my family and I was at a loss.
I felt so strongly about going to see my grandmother, and I wasn’t even able to. My family wasn’t there to help me grieve. And I found myself questioning God.
The Bible Says…
Romans 8:28 says that we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good… only I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t see how my grandma dying before I got to see her could be for good. I didn’t understand how my family being kept away from me could be for good.
Have you ever been there?
It’s hard to trust when everything is so uncertain.
Philippians 4:7 says that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. But I didn’t have that. Not even close. I prayed for it, but it never came. I was anxious and upset.
Trust Isn’t Always Our Default Setting
I was talking to a friend about it and she told me the reason the Bible says to trust God so many times is because He knows it isn’t always easy. He knows trust isn’t always our default setting. That was something I needed to hear.
God knows trust isn't always our default setting… Click To TweetI feel like one of my spiritual gifts is the gift of faith, so I was all twisted up, not just because of everything that was going wrong but because I wasn’t handling it well. Only God never expected me to.
He knows human beings have emotions because He created them.
The Suffering of Job
One of my favorite books of the Bible is the book of Job. If you’re familiar with it, you might be surprised by that. In the beginning, it says that Job had a blessed life. He lived a life that was pleasing to God. He was blessed with health, wealth, and happiness. He had a great family and lots of property, and he took time everyday to make sacrifices to God because he knew all his blessings came from God.
And God took the time to point out how awesome Job was to Satan. Like thanks God? Right?
Then God allowed Satan to take it all away.
He starts with Job’s children and all his possessions. Job loses them all in one fateful day.
But Job still worshiped God.
Then, Satan strips Job of his good health. Job is grieving and in pain, but he still refuses to curse God. However, he does question why he is alive at all. He’s depressed. Who wouldn’t be, right?
So his “Friends” show up.
They try to tell him that everything that’s going wrong is his own fault. Even though we know it wasn’t.
Job tries to tell his friends how blameless he is, but that doesn’t get him anywhere. And finally God Himself steps in.
And Job praises God saying that before this tragedy, he knew about God, but because of it, he now knows God personally. And then he prays for his friends to be forgiven. And God restores Job’s health wealth and happiness.
But what I love most about the book of Job is that it’s the story of how God is in control and we can trust Him, even when things aren’t going the way we hoped or planned.
Related Post: When Life Gives You Lemons
Nothing Surprises God…
Nothing surprises God.
He wasn’t surprised that my grandma died before I got to see her. He knew my family wouldn’t make it on the day we planned. And He wasn’t surprised that I didn’t handle it well. He knows me better than I know myself and He knows when I’m going to need a little more grace to get through things.
And He is always right there with me.
And He’s with you, too.
No matter what you’re facing right now, it didn’t catch God by surprise. And neither did your reaction to it.
It’s okay when we get shaken by the things that happen to us. It’s even okay to ask God, why? However, no matter what we are walking through, we can know God is with us and He is good. He can be the One we come back to to get our feet back on solid ground.
That’s why it’s important to build a solid foundation for our faith. So when that the storms of life come (Because they will), we can stand firm on Jesus and what we know to be true. Even when we are shaken by life, we can trust the foundation we have built in Jesus to keep us from getting completely washed away.
But life will shake us.
Things Will Go Wrong…
John 16:33 promises us that in this world we will have trouble. It’s not a question of whether or not life will shake us, it’s a matter of when. When will it shake us next.
That’s encouraging, right?
But when life shakes us, we don’t have to get swept away by the current. We can know God is in control, even when we’re not.
So whether you are shaken by a death in the family, plans falling apart, or just the every day junk that’s in our lives, know that God is with you, and no matter how shaken you are, He’s not shaken at all. He hasn’t been caught off guard and He already knows how the situation will play out.
God’s got this, even when we don’t.
When we trust in Jesus, we can still get shaken by life. We might not always feel that peace that surpasses understanding, but we can always know Who is in control.
Join the Conversation
When things go wrong in your life, do you handle it well or do you start to question God? Does your faith have a strong foundation that can weather the storms of life?

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P.S. We are linking up with the Grace & Truth Link-Up. Check out all of their posts here.
I’m so sorry for all these hurts and frustrations. It is hard. I’m thankful God knows we are weak and that He continues to encourage us over and over.
My father-in-law, whom we’d been caring for for over two years, passed suddenly downstairs in his room two years ago. We knew he’d been winding down, but he had been up and joking around with us the day before. His passing was horrid – a picture I cannot unsee in my mind. We were even told to expect some ptsd as a result. (So very different from my father’s passing several months before.) I felt so so bad. Then the next day, I was sharing with a hospice worker Jeremiah 29:11. I was trying to encourage her. Then the last three words hit me: “an expected end.” Things had gone according to plan in God’s eyes. Wow! What a comfort! Those words had never meant so much.
Praying God will comfort you. Looks like big days are ahead for you all. Congratulations to the soon-to-be graduate. (I think I have that right.)
Thanks for sharing.
Yes! I have a son graduating next month. Such a busy season!
I love that no matter what, you always CLING to JESUS. No matter what! I love that about you!
Thanks, Pam!
I’m sad to hear of your grandma’s passing Heather, the disappointments, and hardships you experienced around her passing. May the Lord continue to comfort you and give you the grace to process all that transpired. His peace is what sustains us, Heather!
Thanks, Lisa!
I needed to read this today, Heather. Thank you for linking it.
Thanks for stopping in, Lauren
That’s a helpful thought, that the Bible says to trust God so many times is because He knows it isn’t always easy. We so need the reminder that He is in control even when everything looks out of control.
All the mention of being shaken reminded me of Hebrews 12:27: “This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.” I read something by Spurgeon once on this that was really eye-opening and comforting, but unfortunately I don’t remember where. But basically he brought out the idea that sometimes God shakes us or our circumstances up to open our eyes to the “the things that cannot be shaken.” And that in turn reminds me of the Getty’s song “Still, My Soul, Be Still.” The chorus says:
God You are my God, and I will trust in You and not be shaken
Lord of peace renew a steadfast spirit within me
To rest in You alone
Thanks for sharing that Scripture, Barbara. I’m going to have to look up that encounter in the Bible and read the rest of the story.
I had that happen with an aunt. We were truck drivers and we were driving hard to get home to see my aunt, to tell her goodbye and I couldn’t even remember the last time we’d been able to see her. Well, we did not make it. We got to the ER doors and someone met us there. We could tell by their faces that she had gone on to Heaven. It is hard and life is hard.
I do fail daily in reading the Bible as I should and I know that hurts me and my faith but I’m trying to do better. I listen to Bible verses and chapters on Alexa and that helps. I’m sure I’m not alone in being a failure. I just hope we can all do better each day is a new day to make things better.
Good post and of course sorry for your loss.
Samantha
Thanks, Samantha.
It’s tough losing someone you love so very much – and not getting there in time after trying so hard. It seems like satan was really trying to pile a lot of hard on you (it’s bad enough when a car breaks down in your hometown – but out of town breakdowns must nerve-wracking on much higher level). I’m glad you fought through the struggle and the need to finally rest in Him. I am so glad He’s there, even when what’s happening here doesn’t “feel” like it. Shalom, Heather! ~ Maryleigh
Yes! So thankful for Jesus.