A Unique Reason Moms Ought to Thank God

Do you ever thank God for the tragedies that did not occur? 

It might sound like a weird question, for how would one know when a tragedy could have happened but didn’t? 

However, if your life is anything like mine, there are plenty of averted disasters, we just have to train our minds to notice them. Just the other day I saw my daughter run into the street, right as a car was coming around the corner. Needless to say, that day could have ended far differently than it did!

Or I think of the times when sickness could have turned into full-blown infections, but did not. Or the times when knees got scraped rather than skulls broken. The truth of the matter is, things could go seriously wrong just about every single day, and usually they don’t.  

And why would we stop to pay attention to that which didn’t happen? The reason is simple — it reminds us that we’re safely in the hands of God’s constant gracious protection. The credit doesn’t go to luck or chance — It’s because we have a kind God, and he alone causes us to dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8). 

Safely in the Hands of God 

The problem is, we usually forget about God’s sovereignty until things go wrong. At that point, we try and remind ourselves that God is in control and he is using all things for good (Romans 8:28). While that is 100% true, our perspective at that moment isn’t the whole story if we’re forgetting God’s sovereignty expands to every other good day (when trials didn’t take center stage). 

In other words, we don’t want to only credit God for his power when he sustains us in difficulty, we should credit him with the gracious power that protects us from dangers we could have experienced, but didn’t.  

Just think of it from a mother’s perspective: There are times when you’ll allow your child to go through pain for one reason or another, but if only your children knew the times that you spared them, protected them, or even saved their life! And then to think that our Father’s love is so much greater, and his protection so much wiser, and his power so much stronger! Needless to say, we are as safe as we can be in the hands of God. 

Praise God More This Week!

See if you can notice a way in which God is extra gracious to you this upcoming week — specifically by keeping you, or your loved ones, from harm. I’m sure in eternity we’ll be overwhelmed by the realization of God’s extensive kindness and protection; But let’s not wait until then to praise him more fully! 

Not to mention, when God does allows us to go through pain (like a loving parent often does) we will know for certain that it wasn’t due to God’s thoughtless oversight. Far from it, he’s had his eyes on us all along, and we have a track record to prove it — day after day, we know we’ve benefitted by the safety God’s sovereignty provided. 

There’s no better place than to be in the gracious loving Sovereign hands of God. Let’s notice his display of kindness in those ways that normally get overlooked. Thank him for all the tragedies that do not occur.