Sovereignly good

"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?" (Romans 11:34)

In an age that breathes the air of questioning the wisdom and justice of God, this verse provides a humbling and powerful promise. The understood answer to Paul's rhetorical question is, "No one!"
There will never be a moment in history when any person will be able to truthfully say to the Lord, 'I could have been your counselor'! As such, if the Lord has ordained hard things for you now, be encouraged that He will work it for your highest eternal good and His highest eternal glory (Rom.8:28).

Don't believe the devil's whisper that says, "God is not in control of this; He doesn't care as much about you as you do; He doesn't care as much about His glory as you do." On the extreme contrary, the reality that God cares infinitely more about your joy and good than you do is your only hope for lasting joy. His perfect wisdom and absolute power coupled with His promise to do all His children good, should provide with more hope than any your perceived wisdom and power might afford you (Ps.84:10-11, Ps.34:9-10). Embracing a lie and refusing to live in accordance with reality is the essence of sin.

In 1 Samuel 1 when Hannah is provoked to tears by Peninnah "because the Lord had closed her womb" (vs.6), notice that she does not question the Lord's wisdom or goodness, but rather trusts His sovereignty by "pouring out her soul to the Lord" (vs.15) and then praising Him as the "God of knowledge" (vs.3) and sovereign to "guard the feet of His faithful ones" (vs.9). What ended up happening in Hannah's case was that the Lord received more glory through showing His power in the suffering of her impossible situation than He would have through her ease and comfort. In the end all are made to see that the Lord needs no counselors.

Therefore, whatever suffering the Lord is now blessing your faith with and preparing to glorify His name through, don't despise it or Him but rather trust Him and pour out your heart before Him. So if you're going to be 29 next week and are still single, don't believe the lie that you would be happier or that the Lord would be more glorified if you were at this moment married. To believe such is to say in your heart, "listen to my counsel", which is pridefully inviting the Lord's humbling hand and delighting to live in the fantasy world of sin (Jer.2:12-13). God knows how to glorify His name and satisfy His people better than you do.