God Are You Good?

“And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” (Gen 18:32b)

The two women behind me on the train were chatting away. I was not purposefully eavesdropping, but they were talking loud over the train noise and it was hard to not to overhear. One was concerned about some tests that she had recently undergone. The diagnosis could be grim, but had not yet been made. “I made a bargain with God,” she said, “If He gives me good results back, I’ll go on the mission trip.”

I understand such a statement. When faced with uncertainty, we want to feel like we have some say in the outcome don’t we? So we come before God and offer up our own if…then… bargains:

If you’ll save my marriage, I’ll ….

If you’ll heal me, I’ll …

If you’ll let me have one more conversation with her, I’ll …

If you’ll bring me this job, I’ll …

On some level, we believe God has the power and the authority to make our hard situation different. But because we aren’t confident in God’s character, we try to stack the deck in our favor by offering something up we hope will sway God to intervene in our favor. Because we will know God is good when it goes our way.

What is our response if the outcome of our hard situation is not what we want or ask for? What if we don’t get that last conversation with our loved one? What if we don’t receive the healing? What if our marriage fails? What if we don’t get that job? What, I wondered, would the woman on the train do if the test results did not come back in her favor?

What if we are asking the wrong question when we try to bargain with God?

What if what we truly need is not a specific outcome, but to discover God is in the hard places of life? The question we really need answered is, “God are you good? Can I trust you in this hard place?”

There is a story in the Old Testament that is often held up as an example of someone bargaining, or negotiating, with God. A man named Abraham and his nephew Lot had families that had grown too large to be settled in the same area. They needed to separate. Abraham gave Lot first choice of where he wanted to settle.

When Abraham and Lot parted company, Lot settled near Sodom (believed to be located at the south end of the Dead Sea). Sodom and Gomorrah were awful cities, full of flagrant sin. When I read this I always hope that Lot didn’t know this about his chosen place to call home, but we don’t know. What we do know is that he stayed when he got there and that the wickedness of the cities did not escape God’s attention.

God paid Abraham a visit and shared His plan to render judgment on these cities with him. What ensues between God and Abraham is an interesting conversation where Abraham appears to be bargaining with God.

Lord, what if there are 50 righteous people? I will not destroy. What if there are 40? I will not destroy. What if there are 30…. 20….10 righteous people? For the sake of 10 righteous people, I will not destroy it. (Gen18:23-33)

To negotiate means to deal or bargain with someone in preparation for a contract. In negotiations, each party brings something of value to the “table” – something the other desires and they work out a deal between them. It is very much an “if – then” type agreement from which each party stands to gain.

What did Abraham bring to this “negotiation?” Abraham was surely aware of the sin of the cities he interceded for. We cannot be sure he thought Lot was among the righteous that he asked God about, but maybe he held out that hope. I imagine Abraham’s heart rebelled at the idea of a city being destroyed. I am certain he desired a certain outcome.

But that is not the conversation he had with God in this hard place. There is no, if you will save Lot, then I will… or, if you will save the city, then I will.… Abraham brought nothing to the table in his conversation with Lord except his hopes, his fears, and his faith. His questions were less about saving the cities and more about probing the heart of God. I believe Abraham was asking the question the lady on the train was really asking. The question we are all really asking. God, in this hard situation, are you really good?

When we read a little further we discover “the next morning Abraham gets up and sees columns of smoke rising from the destroyed cities.” (Gen 19:27)

If Abraham’s goal was to bargain with God to save the cities, he failed. If that is not what Abraham was ultimately after, then what was it?

Abraham confronted a difficult situation by seeking out God’s heart. God knew there were not ten righteous people in Sodom. Yet, He encourages Abraham to keep asking because with each response, Abraham learns that God is merciful and just. Abraham stops at 10, not because they had negotiated a settlement, not because he offered to do something if God spared the cities, but because he had his answer. He could trust God to be in the hard place.

Abraham’s heart probably grieved at the sight of fire and smoke. But he was confident that even though the outcome was not what he desired, God was still good.

This is where God wants us to be. God invites us to engage Him in conversation that seeks His heart for us in our hard places so that when we see the fire and smoke, we will walk in faith knowing that “yes, God, you are good.”