The longer my family and I are on the mission field the more certain I am that we have the Enemy’s full attention. There hasn’t been one solitary catastrophic event to break us. But in only three months we have encountered more back-to-back hardships than I ignorantly thought possible.
But, whether our hardships are targeted efforts by the enemy or not, sometimes bad things happen. They happen to everyone, and they happen every day. And it would seem that just as you think one thing is squared away some other aspect of your life goes flying into chaos. If you asked my wife, she could tell you better than anyone how frustrated I get sometime. You might think my favorite phrase is, “Ugh… always somethin’…”
But, surly, it has to end at some point, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I ought to go knock on some wood for saying so, but I won’t. I won’t because I have something better– The Sovereignty and Grace of God.
While I was pondering this earlier in the week, I was reminded of a few instances in Scripture. I thought of God’s promise to bless Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; that promise was for them and in their day, surely, God hasn’t neglected his people today. I thought of Job and Satan’s attacks on his life in an attempt to break him of his faithfulness to God. I thought of Balaam’s inability to curse Israel, but rather God using him to heap blessings on his people. (All of these are very interesting stories that I suggest going back and reading for your self. I was reminded of a lot of things that I had forgotten.)
All of these are Old Testament accounts, but God is still the same today as he was yesterday.
After all of this, as I prayed for wisdom and strength, I asked for God to show me what He was doing for His people and for me TODAY. And I was quickly reminded of two passages. Funny enough, one or the other would have sufficed, because they both encompass all things. Both are often misused, so I thought I might write about it.
All Things.
The older I get the more I understand Paul’s words in Philippians. I’ve been in need, and I’ve had seasons of plenty. I may not have ever been in a ship wreck, but I’ve had plenty of brake downs 1,000 miles from anywhere. I’ve never paid for preaching by the skin off my back. Paul mentions a whole laundry list of hardships in other letters– some I know well, most I can’t imagine. But either way, I’ve seen enough to know that His finishing statement rings true.
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
— Philippians 4:13
The second passage is similar.
“All things work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
–Romans 8:28
Now, I probably know what you’re thinking… I couldn’t have picked two verses that are more well-known accept for, maybe, John 3:16. If one of these verses isn’t you’re “life verse,” then it’s probably the other.
Well… I may be about to ruin them for you.
What I’m NOT saying…
What I’m not saying is this:
Everything happens for a reason…
Every cloud has a silver lining…
God won’t give you more than you can handle…
That every dream you have is worth following…
And no, this verse didn’t even help Tim Tebow throw touchdown passes…
Like I said, sometimes bad things happen. Guess what… that doesn’t mean that God did it because “God works in mysterious ways.” Sometimes it’s much the opposite. Perhaps tragedy strikes or hardships occur because Satan attacks or someone succumbs to their own sinful flesh. And sometimes bad things happen, and they’re nobody’s fault. They just… happen.
The fact is, we don’t live in a perfect world. God gave us a perfect world, and we jacked it up. It’s time to stop pretending that sin and corruption is somehow linked into God’s plan, because when we excuse and justify sin we miss out on one of the best things about God– His wonderful grace.
What I AM saying…
It’s hard for me to boil down all the thoughts I’ve had rolling around in my head. I’m going to try, so bear with me.
The Redeemer can redeem any situation. Again, those two passages are pretty all-inclusive. It’s almost as if God is waiting to help us in every part of our lives… novel idea, right? So… why don’t we let Him?
If you’re anything like me, you like control. I don’t like feeling like I don’t know what I’m doing. Unfortunately, I often find myself in need of His help. In the culture I grew up in it was honorable to “pull yourself up by your own boot straps.” It’s good to work hard. But when this leads to a “God helps those who help themselves” mentality… that’s no good. The whole point of the Old Testament Law was to prove that we can’t help ourselves. Romans 3:10 tells us that NO ONE is righteous. The Gospel is that God provided a Savior.
One of my pet peeves is when I hear people simply moralize a story from Scripture. If what we read doesn’t somehow point to Jesus in some way or another, then I’m not sure we’ve understood it. If the life of Joseph was about following your dreams, or the life of David was about “facing your giants,” then why do we need Jesus? There are times in Scripture where morals are taught, but the question of “why” is always Jesus.
The thought occured to me the other day that the world is unable to curse us more that God is able to bless us. Understanding that changes everything. These verses don’t erase the bad. The are true in spite of the bad. How frustrating it must be for the Enemy and how assuring it can be for us as His people to know that God can use any hardship for good!
So, no matter your circumstance– good or bad, inflicted or unforseen– look to Jesus.
What is He saying? What are you doing?
Newfound Ramblings 