“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)

My little Yorkie companion, Lilly, is getting older. She turned twelve last October, and she’s had arthritis for a while and stomach issues even longer. (The stomach issues aren’t age related. She just has a weak stomach.) Recently, she’s been dealing with a recurring skin infection, so the vet prescribed a pill and also a medicated shampoo.

I coated the pills in peanut butter the same way I do with her arthritis and stomach medicines. Almost immediately, she noticed that something was different. She sniffed the peanut butter suspiciously, and after she ate the peanut butter and spit out the pill several times, I switched to wrapping it in cheese. And now, not only am I having difficulty getting her to take the new medication, but she also doesn’t want to take the old ones that have never bothered her before. She licks the peanut butter delicately each time as if to test what kind of craziness might be lurking inside.

While she’s right to be suspicious—something is different—it’s for her own good. And isn’t this often the way we behave when God is working in our lives? We don’t understand what’s happening, and we fight him every step of the way. We don’t understand—or maybe we don’t really believe—that he’s working everything for our good (Rom. 8:28). All we know is that something is different, we don’t like it, and we don’t want it.

Whether it’s removing a person from our lives who was drawing us away from God or not getting a job we had set our heart on, there are any number of things that feel, in the moment, as if they’re not going our way. We may feel as if God isn’t looking out for us. But thankfully, God sees the bigger picture, and just as I know Lilly’s medicine will make her skin less itchy, God knows the final outcome for us and the best way to get us there. He just asks us to hold onto him and have faith that it will be so.

Dear Jesus, thank you for seeing the big picture. Help us to draw close to you, and give us your strength when we don’t understand what’s happening. Help us to trust that you’re working all things for our good. Amen.