When the unfortunate moments come, many times we pray for relief. Popular Christian music even has lyrics praying for circumstances to change. While not all circumstances are equal and started from the same point, if we look deep enough we may see it has a separate purpose. I found this point in my own devotional reading 1 Chronicles. I was questioning in my mind where Samaria came about in the Biblical timeline, which led down a rabbit hole of investigating through the scriptures. Eventually I settled on the chasm set forth between Rehoboam and Jeraboam.

As I read into it Rehoboam sought advice for his troubles with dealing with laborers from his father’s (Solomon the wise) advisors. They gave advice to work with them. Then instead of following their advice he chose to ask and trust his own young advisors. They steered him wrong as one might expect. Soon the northern tribes of Israel rebelled and split, placing Jeroboam as king. The kingdom of Israel was split. Rehoboam thinking he needed to resolve this, gathered him mighty warriors to resolve the conflict. As many of us do when we experience conflict, we go to war. We develop our battle strategy and plan. I’m going to get an extra job, we will shift the responsibilities, I will put these protective measures in place, etc. One might look at this particular situation and believe they knew the root cause of why the kingdom split. Simply evaluating Rehoboam’s response would show a king who is harsh and unkind, not benevolent and compassionate. So of course, the response of the tribes would be to overthrow his power. Yet, this was only part of it. God’s purposes are not our purposes, God’s ways are not our ways.

Keeping God’s purposes in mind it wasn’t hard to search earlier in the text reign of Solomon to find it. 1 Kings 11:9-13 we read, “The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshipping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command. So now the LORD said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my laws, I will surely tear your kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your Son. And even so, I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”

Rehoboam’s decision while harsh wasn’t ultimately the root for the change. Yet sometimes we see our current circumstance and believe we know the way out. Rehoboam knew the way out was to fight. He didn’t realize until later it was the will of the Lord for this to happen. (1 Chronicles 10:15b). So when Rehoboam assembled the battle plans and troops for war, he must have been surprised when the Lord told him, “Do not fight your relatives. God back home, for what has happened is my doing!” (1 Chronicles 11:4. What a surprise that must have been on two fronts.

Finally brothers and sisters, the question of purpose comes up. Yes, all things work for the good of those who love the Lord, but what is the purpose. And yet we must also acknowledge, “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) But the Lord sometimes does give an explanation. When he does we should always take note. Wherever that circumstance is in scripture we can get a glimpse into the purposes of God. Rehoboam received an answer later in his life for some of God’s purposes. After turning away from the Lord’s commands, just as his father had done, he found himself on the receiving end of the spear of Egypt. Egypt was invading, the Pharoah, Shishak, conquered all of Judah’s fortified cities and was moving in on Jerusalem. It wasn’t until this point that Rehoboam responded in surrender. It took the words of God through the prophet Shemaiah to bring sense to him. You abandoned the Lord, so now he will abandon you to Shishak. (paraphrased, 1 Chronicles 12:5) This is the point where many step back and say where is the compassion? Where is the love from God? The mercy? Yet, this is precisely when we see the discipline and the heart behind it. “I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem. But they will become his subjects, so they can learn how much better it is to serve me than to serve earthly masters.” (1 Chronicles 12:7b-8)

We see Paul preach to this same cause in Romans. We can be a slave to sin, which results in death, or to obedience which results in righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18) So my brothers and sisters, sometimes our difficulties, our exiles, our struggles are our own plans to run our lives taking the foreground. Sometimes they are the results of our years of planning our lives only to find that we can’t actually manage them through the hardships. I know I’ve found that, by living my own purposes and plans, my life fell apart. When I started walking in His purposes and plans I found a fulfilling life. Can you see past the current struggles and see into His purpose of drawing you to Him? If you can, would you draw near to His Word, and to Him in prayer?