“I thought if I was doing God’s will, everything would work out,” a young woman said as she related a health crisis her family faced. Though she had done everything “right,” the prospects looked grim. More than the fear of what might happen physically, she struggled with a sense of betrayal by God. “I’m following God. Why isn’t this working out?”

How often does this describe us? We step out in faith, but do we step out to follow God’s plan–or to get our own?

We began home schooling because our son had extreme sensory integration disorder, a condition in the autism spectrum. It took a lot for God to convince me His answer to son’s struggles in school was for us to home school, but once He did I fully embraced the call.

The first week was heaven. Surely, this home schooling thing was the answer to our prayers–our son’s life would now go smoothly.

Then, we got to the second week.

By month three I was a mess. All too often, I cried out loud, “I thought if I was doing God’s will everything would work!” The same problems that challenged our son were still part of him. Home schooling wasn’t a panacea removing all obstacles. It was the process God used to work through the obstacles.

I think it works the same with faith. Stepping out in faith to follow God’s will isn’t some magic ritual we use to get what we need from God. Following God’s will, at its heart, means we put our agendas aside to serve His agenda. His agenda for Elijah was to sit by a creek for months with only ravens for company. His agenda for Daniel was to spend an entire life in a foreign country serving pagan kings. His agenda for Paul included beatings, ship wrecks, imprisonment, and martyrdom.

I can imagine each saying, “God, I’m doing Your will–why isn’t this working?” Yet, what would our faith be if Elijah went home to a feast, if Nebuchadnezzar sent Daniel home to his family and he never met Darius or faced lions, or if Paul had an easy road for evangelism?

So often I’ve interpreted that straight path of Proverbs 3:6 to mean “everything will go well for me.” While God’s blessings flow through every day, I think this interpretation sets us up for disappointment when everything doesn’t go well. We feel betrayed.

Reading accounts of the faithful from scripture convinces me  that God isn’t necessarily promising that it will–at least in this life. So often, our struggles and how we walk with God in them is the witness we offer for others. So often it’s the process God uses to heat up our lives and boil the underlying sin to the surface so He can remove it. So often those struggles bring us to a place we never desired but which becomes a destiny so much better than the one we sought.

I pray that for all those feeling betrayed because they stepped out in faith and “it’s not working.” I pray that you will find the road may not be as smooth as you anticipated, but that God is with you and is using you for His perfect plan.

Tess Worrell writes and speaks to groups regarding issues of family life and living as a Godly woman. She and husband, Mike Worrell, live in Madison, Indiana, where they are in their 14th year of home schooling. She would love to hear your insights. Comment here or email her at tess@YourFamilyMatterstous.com. If you would like Tess to speak to your home school or church group, you can learn more about her speaking at YourFamilyMatterstous.com.