4 Things God Won't Do

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching,

you are really my disciples.

Then you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.”

—John 8:31–32 

“Everything happens for a reason,” she said when she told me about her son’s car accident. I firmly agreed. But then later I started questioning if that was true.

Some things certainly do happen for a reason. For example, God allowed Satan to strip Job of everything he had to prove that Job was “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). But did God plan for Lot’s wife to be turned into a pillar of salt? I don’t think so. That was the result of disobedience. The angel of the Lord warned, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” (Genesis 19:17). Lot’s wife didn’t heed the warning, and she suffered the consequence of her action.

Certain situations have the mark of God all over them. I call these glimpses of holy, where I can look back and say, “God planned that” or “Only God could have made that happen.” But then there are other situations that lead me to ask, “God, where were you?” or “God, why did you let that happen?” When I begin to question God’s motives or reasoning, I remind myself of what is true.

Truth #1 – God won’t manipulate (use, control) you.

God is not one to take away our free will. Following Jesus and obeying God’s commands are decisions each of us have to make. I often pray, “God, use me for your good purposes,” but I am rethinking my choice of the word “use” because God is not in the habit of “using” people. He anoints, and he equips, but he doesn’t manipulate or control. For example, when I ask God to make me more patient, he provides me with situations that test my patience. That way, I get to practice my response so that it becomes a habit. (I’m still working on this one!) It would be a lot easier if God would just wave his magic wand and make me patient, but that isn’t how he operates. He is a teacher, not a dictator.

Truth #2 – God won’t tempt you.

King David already had seven wives when he took a walk on his palace roof and caught a glimpse of Bathsheba bathing. When he learned she was a married woman, he could have done the right thing and gone back into the palace. Instead “David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her” (2 Samuel 11:4). David knew this was wrong, but he did it anyway.

Similarly, Adam had his pick of fruit in the Garden of Eden. Though the Bible doesn’t name the specific trees, it does say that they “were pleasing to the eye and good for food” (Genesis 1:9). God told Adam, however, to stay away “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). But when Eve saw that “the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6). Adam and Eve knew this was wrong, but they did it anyway.

James writes in 1:13-14, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” Satan tempted David with Bathsheba, and he tempted Eve then Adam with the forbidden fruit.

Honestly, why would anyone be tempted to eat the fruit of a poisonous tree? They wouldn’t unless they were tricked! Which brings me to …

Truth #3 – God won’t deceive you.

God has no reason to lie, but Satan does. He wants to overthrow God’s kingdom and assume the throne. To achieve this, he has to obtain followers, which he can only do through lies, deceit, and temptation. Jesus warned his listeners, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan is the antithesis of Jesus, who came to bring us life—so that we could "have it to the full” (John 10:10). When Jesus told his disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), he provided them (and us) with the route back to Eden.

Truth #4 – God won’t leave you.

Our time on earth is limited, but eternity is forever, and God wants you to spend it with him. So, no matter how bad things get, no matter how far you fall, no matter what you’ve done or failed to do, God will always love you. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39). I’ve made enough mistakes in my life to give God a reason to abandon me, but he never has, and he never will.

Scripture tells me that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). But does God orchestrate every move we make? No. God gave us free will to make our own decisions. We can choose between obeying his commands or following our own desires, between satisfying the flesh or living by the spirit. The choice is ours. But no matter which path we choose to take, “The Lord works out everything to its proper end” (Proverbs 16:4). Because God is God, he can take our bad choices and use them for his good purposes.

God has a master plan, and he will bring it to completion in spite of us. So, perhaps not everything happens for a reason, but everything God has planned will happen.

SHARING A FAVORITE SONG: The Way, the Truth, and the Life by CityAlight

Favorite lyric: “I have heard the Gospel truth, and on that rock I stand.”