And then something goes wrong.
We question God and our lives and wonder where we messed up.
We might think God is punishing us and wonder how we got Him so angry.
But none of that is what is going on.
Our problem is in thinking if we do things right that things will go our way. The problem is that we are focused on us and our ways.
And it isn't about us. It is about God. It is about His story that He is playing out. Our lives are woven beautifully into the story but we aren't the lead characters. When things don't go as we planned, it is very likely there is a bigger plan at work.
(God does discipline us but His discipline is done out of love to guide us. He isn't shaking His finger at us.)
Two examples in scripture are sitting in my brain right now:
First, we have Hannah. She was a good woman, loved by her husband but "the LORD had closed her womb."
1 Samuel 1:5
Of course we see the rest of the story. Her barrenness led her to pouring her heart out to God and dedicating her first-born son to Him even before she was pregnant. And God used that man mightily (his name was Samuel).
Second, I am thinking of Joseph, Mary's husband. He did everything right. He was a godly man. He was a good Jew. But then through no fault of his own his betrothed turns up pregnant. He marries her quickly and the whole town, everyone, accuses him of immoral behavior (sex before marriage). And people never forgot that. His reputation was ruined because he and Mary had the divine mission of raising God's Son. Prior to all that, Joseph probably found great security in his good name.
Both Hannah and Joseph lived good lives before God. They did everything right but neither's lives went the way they thought they would. They both had to deal with pain and suffering that they didn't deserve for the much greater plan, God's plan. Both were blessed in the end big time. They both submitted to God and took it all in stride. And God was glorified. And their lives were amazing.
We too might be doing everything right but dealing with negative things that have nothing to do with us. We might think this is unfair. But God isn't fair. He's loving and just and compassionate and His ways are higher than ours -- they are so beyond us that we cannot fathom them often.
We need to just rest in Him and tell ourselves, "God's got this."