In a book by Tim Keller, I read the tale of a witch who turned unsuspecting travelers into stone. She had a cottage with a comfortable bed that she offered to anyone who needed a place to stay for the night. But the bed was enchanted, and anyone who was asleep in it when the sun came up would become a statue in the witch’s collection. In that same house was a servant girl who had pity on the unsuspecting travelers. So when a young man stopped at the cottage for the night, the servant girl threw sharp sticks and stones into the bed before he settled down for the night. When he tried to sleep, the stones and sticks stabbed him, keeping him awake. He cursed the girl who had prepared the bed. Little did he know how much she actually cared.

Sounds like God. While we don’t understand the sticks and stones of life, he does. He knows, he allows, and he even plans our pain because he cares. We assume we’d be fine with more blessing. But God knows. Sometimes God doesn’t do what he can simply because he cares.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6,7). Be humble enough to believe that God allows things to happen, not because he can’t control them but because he cares for you.