A friend recommended that I read the book When God Doesn’t Fix It, by Laura Story.
Although I was very familiar with her song “Blessings” and others, I didn’t
know anything about her background. I won’t go into details here because I’d
rather recommend that you read her book. She is certainly qualified to respond
to the question “What do you do when God doesn’t fix the overwhelming
circumstances of life?” Sometimes living is a daily chore, and walking by faith
is more like crawling in the dark. But God is there with us too. The following
are just a few of the highlights I made in the book:
“[While] we’re focused on the
unhealed sickness, hurt, and pain in our lives, God is focused on a bigger
picture. Something else is broken, and it has eternal consequences if it
doesn’t get fixed” (ch 3).
“We ask God why, believing the
answer will provide us with some kind of deep soul satisfaction. But too often,
we don’t get the answer we want. I don’t think that means we should give up
asking questions; we just need to understand their role in our brokenness.
Questions can be a great help in mourning our loss, communicating our
frustration, and expressing our feelings. We belong to an almighty,
transcendent, yet approachable God who loves hearing our questions. Our
questions are important to him, and the Scriptures are full of hurting people
asking questions” (ch 10).
“The answer to why doesn’t help
us heal. But knowing that God’s glory can be displayed, even in the brokenness
of our lives, gives us hope despite our circumstances. I promise you will find
more purpose and joy in your life if you set aside the why and begin to ask
how. How does my story fit into God’s greater story of redemption? ...
How might God use your current trial to glorify himself?
How might God use your weakness, infirmity, or disability to display his power?
How might God use your hard circumstances to show you something about yourself?
How might God use your pain for a purpose? How might God make this mess into a
message?
How might God use your current chaos to make you into a man or woman who walks
by faith, not by sight?
How might God use your situation to show you that true peace is found only in
him?” (ch 10).
“God is the hero of the broken
story. That’s why he wants you to share your highs and lows too—it’s a part of
his story, and it can be used to bring others closer to him” (ch 14).
“What if telling your story at
church would not only be a blessing in disguise for you, but a lifeline to
someone who needed to hear God’s hope and truth? What if sharing your trials
through a blog post of a Facebook status encourages others who are going
through their own trials? What if seeing how you’ve turned to God helps someone
else know him?” (ch 17).
“Joy doesn’t come from our
circumstances; it comes from our God. And since God is with us during our
trials, it is possible to have joy even in our trials” (ch 19).
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with human hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1).
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© 2025 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV. Cover photo courtesy of Amazon.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
