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1 Maccabees 6:49 "[King Antiochus] made peace with the men of Bethzur, and they evacuated the city, because they had no provisions there to withstand a siege, since it was a sabbatical year for the land."

 

When unforeseen problems spring up in my life, I often wonder why God is permitting them. I am, after all, trying to do everything He wants me to do! I I love Him, I love my neighbor, I am trying to follow all the rules, why then does He allow sudden, unexpected trials in my life, trials that I sometimes can't overcome, and in the face of which I have to surrender? I can imagine the men of Bethzur feeling the same way. It was a sabbatical year. Being good Jews, they were letting the land rest as God commanded, and therefore they did not have food to withstand a siege. When Antiochus' army came, they had no choice but to surrender the city or face starvation, all because they were obeying God's law. Why would God allow that to happen?

 

The way I've come to deal with my feelings in these situations is rather simplistic, even childlike. I just accept that I don't know why God is allowing this seeming unfairness in my life, but I trust that He has good reasons. I try to discern what He wants me to do in difficult situations, trust in His guidance, and then make the best decision possible, even if it means surrendering to unfairness.

 

I look at my life, and even at history, as a story, one that would be rather boring if all those who were trying to be good never encountered any problems. I don't want a boring life (well, honestly, sometimes I do, and many times I have one)! God knows exactly the struggles I have to go through to make me a better person, one worthy of Heaven, which is where He wants me to end up when my story is over. That's what He wants for everyone, so the story history tells is Him letting humanity suffer trials, some of which may be chastisements, some of which seem very unfair, but all of which are meant to bring us closer to Him.

 

As wonderful as it can be, this is a fallen world. In order to be saved, it needs to be cleansed of its wickedness. Sometimes this involves surrender of the good to the wicked, and trust that God is bringing about something better, which is exactly what Jesus did on the Cross. This cleansing often involves giving up our notion of fairness, and our desire to tell our own story, and letting God's story play out. If we do that, the ending will be so much better than we can possibly imagine; we will be so glad we surrendered!