3 Things I’m Thankful God Doesn’t Do

As I sit writing this, we are just a week away from November! I’m especially caught off guard this year since living in Hawai’i doesn’t give me the normal cues that fall is progressing and winter is coming. 
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The tropical climate of Hawai’i means we don’t experience autumn foliage, brisk mornings that require extra layers that will be shed by lunch, or the birds migrating south and squirrels stockpiling acorns away for the winter months. 

So as I sat staring at my calendar this morning, surprised at how quickly October flew by, I was reminded that this is the time of year I try to be intentional about reflecting and considering what I am thankful for. It’s a common practice for many people to think about gratitude throughout November and especially at Thanksgiving. Gratitude is good for us, and not just from a biblical perspective.​

There are numerous psychological studies that show that thankfulness improves our quality of life and brings multiple benefits to our mental and emotional well-being, relationships, sleep, and overall health. 

​​As followers of Christ, we know that gratitude is more than an acknowledgement of the good things in our life. Biblical gratitude and thanksgiving directs its focus beyond the gift to the Giver. It gives praise to God for His grace, mercy, and provision. 
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I’ve taken some time the last few days to consider what I am grateful for, and I noticed an unusual pattern emerge. This year, instead of simply being grateful for what is, God has helped me to be thankful for what is not. Let me share with you 3 things I am thankful God doesn’t do. ​

1. God doesn’t give me everything I ask for.
   God, in His perfect wisdom, doesn’t always give me what I want. There have been many times that I’ve prayed fervently for something, and God has given a resounding “No.” This is not because He is unkind. Rather, in His kindness He knows what I need far better than I do. His love and wisdom prevent Him from allowing anything in my life that is not for my good and His glory. 
   
   When my husband and I realized that we would not be able to naturally bear children, I was understandably heartbroken. I struggled with feelings of frustration, sadness, and hurt. There were even days I felt as if God was withholding from me. But in time, I came to see that God was doing something better in our lives — better for us, better for our daughter whom we adopted, and better for His overall kingdom purposes. Years later, I can confidently say I would not change what God has done. My understanding of God was pushed and stretched, and I experienced His grace in ways I could have never imagined. God didn’t say “No” to be cruel. He said it because He had something far greater set aside for me, and God is utterly committed to giving me His best.
   
   Theologian and pastor Martyn Lloyd Jones affirmed this by saying, “I am profoundly grateful to God that He did not grant me certain things for which I asked, and that He shut certain doors in my face.” Those shut doors can feel like a slap in the face at the moment. But they are God's fierce love in our lives — love that guides, redirects, and sometimes even pushes us to the absolute best for our lives. I can confidently say that the greatest highs, joys, and victories in my life have all come out of a time when God said “No.” And for that, I am grateful. 
   
   
2. God doesn’t show me all my sins at once. 
   Have you ever felt discouraged that it seems you are always struggling with a certain sin or weakness? Have you thought you had overcome something only for it to resurface later on? I think that even though we know in our minds that we will never fully arrive this side of glory, on a practical level, we live expecting that we can. We fail to understand that when Paul calls us to put our flesh to death (Romans 8:13;Colossians 3:5), this is a daily act. Through the power of the Spirit, we can grow in grace and overcome sin, but we will never fully be rid of it this side of Heaven. 
   
   This is why I have learned to be grateful for the constant wrestling with putting my flesh to death. Because it means that not only is God working in me, but also in His kindness, God hasn’t laid the full weight of all my sins on me at once. He knows it would be a weight I could not bear. I recently heard author Jackie Hill Perry elaborate on this: “If God showed us all of our sins all at once, we would be crushed. So in God’s patience, He actually reveals the degrees of sin over time. That’s why the closer you get to God, the more you see yourself. That has helped me be patient with people because it means that there are levels of pride in me that I haven’t even seen yet because God is being patient.”
   
   Romans 2:4 tells us that it is “the kindness of God that leads men to repentance.” In our lostness and depravity God is kind and pursues us to salvation. And I am so grateful that He shows me continued kindness by revealing to me the depth of my sin, but not all at once. His process of sanctification is not too burdensome. And I can be assured that the One who loved me in my sin and gave His life for me, will walk with me in the refining fire, and will bring me “to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
   
   
3. God never abandons me. 
   None of us deserve the love and grace of God. In fact, if I am honest, what I often deserve is to be left to myself and my sin. Anything good in me is because of God. This is why even after many years as a believer, I am still amazed at the faithfulness of God, especially in the face of how often I am faithless. 
   
   

• How often have I forgotten God? 
• How often do I fail to pray and take my cares to Him? 
• How often do I trust in myself instead of Him? 
• How often do I despair as if I have no hope? 
• How often do I complain because life is not what I expected or desired?
  
  The answer to these and many other similar questions is not pretty. Far too often my life reveals a lack of faith, a heart that wanders off, and yet He has and never will abandon me. Consider these words written by Pastor J.D. Greear: “Just because you feel that God is absent doesn’t mean He actually is. Just because you can’t track His footprints doesn’t mean He’s not walking beside you. If you’re a believer, that feeling of being alone is always an illusion. Yes, always. Here’s how I know. At the cross, Jesus experienced the horror of rejection by His heavenly Father. ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ He cried (Matt 27:46). It wasn’t the pain of the nails that hurt Him most; it was the utter aloneness, the true abandonment. And He did it so that you and I would never have to experience it.”
  
  ​What an amazing and precious truth to know that Jesus endured abandonment so that we could know true security and belonging. No matter how many times we fail, no matter how alone we may feel, God is always with us and He is always for us.

I encourage you to take some time to reflect and consider what God has done for you this year (or maybe even what He hasn’t done) for which you ought to be grateful. Give Him praise. Give Him thanks. And remember that for all the gifts, greater is the Giver!

​What are you most thankful that God doesn’t do in your life?