This’ll stink for a bit, but hang in there.

Last week, my daily Bible reading plan came to John 11, the story of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead – after He let him die. It’s probably redundant to mention that Lazarus had to die before he could be brought back to life, but it’s not a trivial point. Jesus had the power to act. He could have prevented Lazarus from dying. He didn’t. That’s where we often get hung up.

The knife twists even a little more. Ever thought you heard pretty clearly from God, and then something happened to make you wonder whether you heard Him at all? The friends of Lazarus must have struggled after hearing Jesus say, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Lazarus died a few verses later.

We all like stories with happy endings. God is more concerned with bringing glory to Himself and building His character in us, though, than He is with our temporary happiness.

At the start of the school year, I completed student teaching in special education. I’d returned from southern Africa on a Thursday and expected to report to the school on Friday. Then I learned that the teacher who was assigned to work with me had retired.

When I reported to the school, I ended up in the retired teacher’s classroom anyway. The retired teacher’s replacement went on medical leave on the second day of school. For six and a half weeks, I stayed in the classroom with a parade of substitute teachers and considerable upheaval.

Elementary students, in general, and students with special needs, in particular, need routines and consistency. Within a couple weeks of starting my student teaching assignment, I realized that I was the consistent adult in the classroom for these students. I had a choice to make between starting my student teaching over again in a classroom where I might receive better mentoring from experienced teachers, or staying where I was, in the interest of providing consistency for the students.

I asked friends to pray for me. “This experience has had an unusual and somewhat bumpy start,” I wrote in an e-mail. “God is good. Please pray that I could humbly honor Him, act professionally and do what is best for the students with special needs I’m teaching.”

God gave me grace to remain in the situation. While I hoped the situation would smooth out, little had been resolved by the time I left. I also hoped maybe to get a job offer, but that didn’t happen either.

I officially graduated at the end of last year. Much to my surprise, months later, I received an invitation to a ceremony where I was given an “Outstanding Graduate Student” award. The university honored one student in each graduate program. The write-up for my award said I exhibited “the highest standards of professional behavior in [my] placements, field experiences and work place.”

That was an honor. When I talked with the person who nominated me for the award, she said my handling of the student teaching experience played a significant part in my receiving the award for my graduate program. I felt honored to have handled the situation in a way that brought glory to God.

It’s important to take inventory of what God gives us permission to control in our lives. I hoped for full-time employment; that didn’t happen. I hoped for a different form or quality of mentoring in my student teaching experience; I feel like I still have a lot of professional growth ahead of me. I couldn’t control those things, despite fighting for them the best way I knew how.

God gave me an opportunity to bring Him glory, though, in how I handled circumstances that weren’t of my choosing.

It’s also worth noting that, even though our actions may bring God glory, sometimes God’s plan still stinks. Really, it does. By the time Jesus came to raise Lazarus from the dead, there was a “bad odor.” (Read John 11:39.) That’s not a trivial point, either.

Christ is more than able to give and to restore life. He’s worthy of our utmost confidence. However, He makes no guarantees in the stench-avoidance department.

Sometimes He provides happy endings. Lazarus came out okay.