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“That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, troubles, hardships and persecutions that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:10
Bad things do happen to good people. Life does
hurt...everyone. The good news is that your negative experience holds the seed
for a miracle! God is working ALL things, even this fearful experience, out for
your good (Romans 8:28). We can actually look forward to
bad things happening, because it is just another opportunity for God to show us
His goodness and greatness! Paul put it like this, “Count it all joy, when you
fall into various trials” (James 1:2).
Life is imperfect because of original sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed, God's perfect plan for Paradise came to a screaching halt. Man forfeited his dominion over the earth to Satan. Sin became the new norm in the world. Due to our sin, we deserve hell! God owes us nothing! Everything He does for us is whipped cream on the pie, icing on the cake, and gravy on the potatoes! God’s love is a gift from above, way beyond what we deserve.
Negative circumstances are not God’s fault! So, do
not blame Him! He created a perfect world in which He planned for us to live. Yes,
God can change the circumstances of our life, and He often does. However, He is
not obligated to change them. Once He redeems us by the blood of the Lamb, all
of our sins are washed away; but sin still rules in the hearts of mankind. Bad
things happen to us when others impose their sin on us, or when we reap from
the sins that we sowed.
Our God is an awesome God. He hides us under His
wings during stressful times! The Lord is our rock, our fortress, our
stronghold and our deliverer. He delivers us from our enemies. We call upon the
Lord, because He is worthy of our praise (Psalm
18: 2-49). He is our refuge, our shield in battle and the horn of our salvation. We
still have to go through battles in this imperfect world, but He is our shield
that protects us from even greater harm.
Jesus stated that in this life we WILL have tribulation, but to be of good
cheer, because He aleady overcame the world (John 16:33). The righteous have many
afflictions, but the Lord delivers us out of them all (Psalm
34:19). Remember Job? He is an example
of a man who continued to trust the Lord in sorrow and suffering. We can see
how the Lord’s plan saw him through suffering and affliction, which eventually
ended for his good (Romans 8:28),
because of the Lord’s tender mercy (James 5:11).
President Bush, Sr. told the story about a boy who
offered this simple prayer at bedtime: "God, bless my Mommy, and my Daddy,
and my brother and sister. And God....
do take care of Yourself...because if anything ever happened to You, we'd all
be sunk." I love that!
Since the Lord lives, we are assured that ALL things will work together for our good (Romans 8:28). This is His promise to all of those who love Him and who are the called according to His purpose. We can rely on it and look forward to it. He probably will not bless you in the way you want Him to, but He will bless you in the way you need Him to!
Why do we find it so hard to trust and believe in
the goodness of the Lord. One reason is that we take the Lord for granted (Psalm 106:7; John 12: 37-38). Also, we do not stand on what
we know as truth (Isaiah 7:9), and we do not relying
on the Lord (Matthew 13:58).
Another reason, is because Satan is very quick to blind us by his lies and deception (Luke 8:12). Then, shamefully, at times we also walk in disobedience (Hebrews 4:6 & 11), and/or are double minded (James 1:6-8). Thankfully, God steps in and helps our unbelief. God is faithful, even when we fail to obey (Romans 10:21; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 2:13).
Sometimes, we turn the concept of believing into a mountain that seems impossible to climb. The simple truth is found in Hebrews 11:6. It tells us what we must believe: "Anyone who comes to God must believe only two things:
1. That He exists.
2. That He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
With this belief in our heart, we can live victoriously in whatever plan God assigns to us, because God is worthy of our trust.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You tell us to cast all of our cares upon You, because You care about us (1 Peter 5:17). Remind us to come to You when we need something, and then leave the method and timing of Your supply up to You. Thank You that we can live in the center of Your will with Your peace ruling and reigning in our hearts (Philippians 4: 6-9).
Thought for the Day:
We know that God exists and rewards us, because of His past deeds and His future promises.
