The Scorpion in the Drawer

Scott and I called the city of San Antonio “home” for 15 wonderful years. As our younger son prepared to go off to college, we decided to sell our two-story house and purchase a one-story.

The house we chose was in a developing subdivision on the north side of town. Many of the streets in the neighborhood had yet to have homes built on them, and my early morning runs made me feel as though I were in the country. The occasional deer standing in the middle of the street staring at me or the pungent smell of a very nearby skunk often reminded me - this was their land, and the builders were encroaching on it.

As was our routine, Scott and I busied ourselves with prepping dinner together one evening. Then we enjoyed our South Texas al fresco meal on our back patio and spent time in leisurely conversation before heading inside to tidy the kitchen. As we unloaded the dishwasher, our patio conversation continued. I opened the silverware drawer to put away the spoons, looking in Scott’s direction as he spoke.

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist tightly and jerked it into the air. “What the heck?! That hurt!” (Yes, I said “heck!”) Scott nodded toward the drawer, where a scorpion crawled among the dividers. He hadn’t meant to hurt me at all – only to protect me from a painful sting.

I’ve lived long enough to realize that sometimes when I’ve been surprised by hurt in the form of unmet expectations or disappointments, it’s actually been the Lord saving me from a “scorpion” of one sort or another. Maybe you’ve been there, too.

How about a door firmly closed, putting an end to a long-held dream? What about a relationship abruptly and unexpectedly ended? Or a career path you’ve worked so hard for and planned for in so much detail – diverted or derailed with no hope of going back?

What do you do when God answers your prayers with a firm, clear “no?”

Some absolute truths in Scripture have not only carried me through those hard times in my life. They’ve also transformed my perspective, and I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you in the hope that those truths will comfort you and help you to know God’s heart more certainly.

I believe that a God Who loves me enough to send His Son to die on a cross to rescue me from the consequences of my own rebellious life would only ever allow what’s best for me to come into my life. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

I believe that the God Who created the heavens and the earth, “all things…visible and invisible,” and in Whom “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17) knows and sees things I can’t even begin to comprehend. He’s preventing or intervening in situations in my life for reasons I could never understand with my finite mind. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) He’s not out to derail my dreams. He’s out to protect my heart from dangers and sorrows I could never anticipate, and I can trust Him.

I believe God is weaving my story – even the painful chapters – into the glorious arc of His own grand story. My story rests in the sovereign hands of the Potter. I’m the clay – grateful, humble, and trusting. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

I believe every moment of suffering, disappointment, and heartache will be used by the Lord – not wasted. The very things that cause me pain will be the very things He uses to fashion me into the image of my Savior. “…We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

I also believe that in those moments when the crushing seems too much to bear, God Himself is with me in the crushing - hurting with me, holding me, comforting me, and gently asking me to trust Him. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

That evening in San Antonio, Scott did what he needed to do to save me from a scorpion’s sting. Did it hurt? Yes. Did it surprise and confuse me? For a few seconds. But in the end, I realized he did it to protect me from a greater pain.

The pain of God’s “no” may sting in the moment, but the long game will bear out His true love for you in the end. The temporary sorrows and setbacks of this life can’t take that great gift away from you. “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)