God's Wisdom in Planning for Our Good

Romans 11:33 (NLT)

33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

In verse 1 of Romans 33 the apostle starts with a question to ponder and then gives a response, “I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.”  The apostle wants to show God’s people that in their trials, tribulations and even in their consequences for rebellion against God - God has provided mercy and grace to His people. In Romans 33 the Apostle tells us how great are God’s riches, which in the Greek language can mean, “abundance of external possessions; fullness, abundance, plenitude; and a good i.e. that with which one is enriched.” Even through suffering there is abundant goodness waiting to take place. For God’s wisdom and knowledge is greater than our own and it is impossible to comprehend the good plans God has for the lives people.

On a January 18, 2010, league night at the Plano Super Bowl, Bill Fong had rolled 33 consecutive strikes. The crowd of fellow league members stopped to watch, as on frame 34, Bill Fong gathered his ball, walked up, and rolled another strike. And then he rolled another on frame 35, and the crowd went wild.

But something was wrong. Two frames back Bill had begun sweating profusely and feeling dizzy. But he was just one roll away from history. Bill pulled the ball to his chest, took his usual five steps, and released the ball perfectly.

People actually started applauding before the ball reached the pins. That's how perfect the roll was. It curved exactly where it was supposed to, made contact with the pins at precisely the right spot. Pins flew, the crowd cheered.

And the number 10 pin wobbled, but settled back onto its base. Standing. 899. One pin short of perfection. Heartbroken, Bill headed home.

The dizziness that began on frame 34 had not improved. Bill staggered into his bathroom and threw up. The walls continued to spin. Bill was having a stroke. Already struggling with high blood pressure, the events of that Monday evening turned a delicate situation into a deadly one.

But Bill never realized he had suffered a stroke until he had another one later. His doctor found scar tissue, and was told about the league night.

The only thing that saved Bill on the night of the 899? That number 10 pin staying up. Had that last pin fell, Bill's doctor feels certain that his body, already in the midst of a stroke, would have pushed his blood pressure even higher. That, most likely, would have killed Bill immediately on lane 28.

[source: Michael J. Mooney, "The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever," D Magazine (July 2012)]

Sometimes what we feel may be the worst thing of our life may be the very thing God is using to save our life - physically or eternally. For we know even a small deviation in our life can change its very existence and with God directing those changes who knows what abundantly good things await for us.