Let God Be God

In God I trust; I will not be afraid.

Psalm 56:4

Dr. Jim Conway was a guest on a Focus on the Family radio broadcast to relate the story of his daughter, Becki. When Becki was fifteen, she began having trouble with one of her knees. For the next eighteen months, doctors ran tests and took biopsies. Finally, a doctor came to the Conway home and delivered the distressing verdict—Becki had a malignancy and her leg would have to be amputated.

Dr. Conway, a pastor, refused to believe it. He was convinced that God was about to perform a miracle. His church began a twenty-four-hour vigil of fasting and prayer. On the morning of the scheduled surgery, he asked the surgeon to verify that Becki's cancer had been healed. But it hadn't. Becki's leg was lost—as was the faith of a crushed, angry, and confused father.

Over the next several weeks, Dr. Conway battled his feelings over Becki's amputation. He eventually realized that he had two choices: continue along a path of anger and despair over the loss of Becky's leg or put the matter in God's hands and choose to believe that He knew what He was doing. He decided, in his words, to "let God be God" and trust Him to turn tragedy into triumph. The struggles with his emotions didn't completely disappear. But like Job, Dr. Conway chose to draw on the wisdom and love of our sovereign Creator: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15).

There are times that God simply doesn't make sense. When He allows tragedy to strike your family, a sense of abandonment or despair can be overwhelming. But in your hour of crisis, I urge you not to lean on your own ability to understand. Don't demand explanations. You will find peace only when you choose to "let God be God," rest in His wisdom and protection, and heed the words of David in Psalm 52:8: "I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever."

By Dr. James Dobson