Does God with hold relationships from us?

One of my favorite verses is this:

Psalm 84:11 “ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
   the LORD bestows favor and honor.
 No good thing does he withhold
   from those who walk uprightly.”Notice the part where it says that God withholds no good thing for those who walk in the way of righteousness.

How can that be?

As I sit at my computer typing I notice the thin band of silver around my finger isn’t studded with a chunk of diamond. Or if I gaze out my window, the oak trees block my view of what could be the ocean. I am not a superior athlete or talented composer. I can’t organize things properly for the life of me, and I would love to be able to cook a 5 star meal.

All of the above are good things. Good things that I don’t have. Am I miss reading the verse or this a phony as the promise to drop 4 dress sizes in 2 days? Neither

Jeremiah 29:11 
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

The truth of the matter is that God withholds no good thing to those who walk blameless according to the plan he has for them.  Would I enjoy being able to hit a ball out of the park? Sure. But if God showered me with an unlimited supply of gifts, my mortal body couldn’t handle it. I would run around trying to satisfy my hearts desires, when God created me for one thing. Therefore we know that what we may see is “good,” God gives us greater good for our life by withholding the things that are not according to Hip plan for us.

In the same way God often gives us times of testing and persecution.

James 1:2-5: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.God could easily withhold difficult times from our life. But then he would be withholding good from us. Because in persecution we find hope in endurance and we fall to dependence on the only one who can truly deliver us.
If life was served on a silver platter… why would be need a God worth glorifying?

So in the terms of holding and withholding… Does God withhold desired relationships from us?
In my last written entry I wrote about the Relational Trinity and how we as human beings require a relationship with God, family, and community to ultimately bring Him glory and be satisfied in Him.
And though I do believe we as believers need these things to function healthfully within the body of Christ all so think that God withholds certain relationships for our good.

Sometimes a relationship is withheld for a certain amount of time to fulfill Gods timing. This was the case  with Abraham and Sarah and their promise for a child. God withheld the birth of their son for many years and until they were old in age. But Gods promise was fulfilled

While other times God may withhold it completely. We see this with Paul in the book of Romans as he displays his conviction to not be wed to a woman but to the mission of the Gospel.

I know in my own life I have often questioned God on why he would not supply me with a  Godly friendship, one that would support me emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. But He worked his plan out according to His timing and my good. God is faithful.

I don’t know where you may be in life: Maybe your morning the loss of a loved one or morning a love that was lost. You may wish you had children, a spouse, a best friend.

 

But may I challenge you to continue to remember and believe that God withholds no good thing from those whose walk is blameless. And if you continue to peruse a relationship with him then he shower you with undeserved grace.

 

The verse above, Jeremiah 29:11, goes on to say this in verses 12-13

  “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes…” 

Though God may with hold certain relationships for our good, the promise to believers is that the relationship between us and God is never withheld. We shall find him when we seek him with all our hearts.

 

If you are wasting time, pining away for a relationship that seems out of reach. Remember that God is never out of reach, because he withholds no good thing from us when we follow him.

-kay