It's All Good!

Many of us easily accept and understand the verse that says that "every good and perfect gift is from above," and we know that we walk in God's favor daily. It really is God's pleasure to prosper us and that Christ came to give us an abundant life. But, do we really understand what that means? Does it mean that God's mission is to grant us every desire we have or to lay nothing but pleasure and wealth before us? Do we expect Him to cater to our every whim? Is that really for our best? Does that really develop our character and help us to become more like Him? Too often many have become out of balance in their thinking. One extreme expects that nothing but trials and suffering will ever come our way, but the other extreme is just as wrong and much too prevailent in modern day teachings.

On one hand, I love and appreciate many positve ministers who have helped us dig out of that pit of despair and of expecting nothing good in our lives. There are many people who feel beaten down by life and see themselves as hopeless. They need to hear that God loves them and wants to bless them. I enjoy a positive message that declares what a good and gracious God we serve, who delights in blessing His children. We need those messages! However, we must be aware of Godly truth and balance in prosperity teaching. Yes, God loves to prosper us, but do we really understand what that means?

On the other hand, I am weary of many who take it to the extreme and cannot seem to be satisfied unless they continue striving for more and bigger things. That is not entirely wrong to a point, but the problem is when the focus begins to lean more and more into materialistic and selfish gratification. They honor the blessings rather than the Blesser! That is not why God blesses us! They teach and expect that God will never allow them to experience any discomfort or will certainly never bring a painful situation in their lives. If it is something they don't like, well it can't be God! If it inconveniences us in any way, then God certainly didn't bring it our way! It must be the devil!

I agree to a point that we should all expect great things, and many people need to be taught to expect much greater things than for what they have been settling. However, the problem comes when we refuse to see the complete picture, and I am going to say it boldly. Throughout Scripture, we see that suffering can also be a very intricate part of God's plan for our lives. Some refuse to accept this, but let us dig deeper and understand God's purpose in all of this. There are several sources of suffering. First of all, we tend to give the most credit to the devil because he brings about negative situations in order to destroy us or to render us completely inaffective. He is often successful, too, because we cave in and take many beatings without fighting back. However, I will go even further to state that there are some things that we may perceive as suffering that God has actually brought to us to teach or to test us. There is quite a difference here! In addition, we bring many problems upon ourselves, and some suffering is just natural, a product of being a human being living in a fallen world. Yes, we experience problems, inconveniences, trials, and pain in many forms, to many degrees, and from multiple sources. Again, while God does not cause most of these, He always uses all of these situations to develop our character and to something wonderful in our lives. However, what many will not except is that sometimes Godis the one who will bring something into our lives that we don't understand or like, and we fail to recognize His sovereign work throughout the entire process.

Have I made anyone angry yet? Well, hear me out. You may agree more than you realize. Let me give you some examples. There are times that God may call someone to sell all they have that is precious to them and go serve Him. He knows exactly what they need, and with cooperation, this will turn out much better for them than anything material they could have had. But some will never be able to accept that "The Lord giveth, and (yes) the Lord taketh away." He really does! We may be called to stay up all night in prayer so that He can speak to us and impart wisdom for a special situation that may arise, but will see that as the devil causing us to have insomnia. He may take something from us that was distracting us from Him, and no matter how much we hate it, it is certainly for our best. He could cause us to get lost or delayed on a trip so that we can avoid an accident or be available to minister to someone in need, but we'll whine and wonder why God isn't helping us. He may bring many uncomfortable situations into our lives so that we will become perfect in Him. He may even bring a trial as punishment for sin so that we will repent and turn back to Him. He may even actually cause us to suffer so that He can do a perfecting work in our hearts and character, but the difference is that the purpose is for our good. I really believe that. Remember, the goal is to "comform us to the likeness of His Son."

Here is the bottom line. Anything God brings into our lives that we may perceive as unpleasant, is really for the purpose of accomplishing something great in our lives. Anything He allows in our lives from any other source, He has also promised to work it all out for our good. He is developing perseverance, character, strength, and maturity in us so that we can become more like Him and better fit for service. If He says it is good, it is good. No matter how we perceive it, it doesn't change God's perspective. He sees the whole picture, so we have to trust that whether God brings it or merely just allows it, it is ultimately for our good. I get so frustrated when I hear someone say, "God doesn't bring anything in our lives that is not good," because while that is true, what they often mean is that anything that doesn't feel good must not be from God. Oh contraire!

What brought this to my attention this morning is that I was reading in Acts chapter 9 how God had blinded Saul. We all know that Saul was on a mission to imprison and persecute anyone associated with the early church. However, the blindness was not punishment or a natural consequence. God did it to get Saul's attention and to call him to minister to the gentiles. God actually caused the blindness! He didn't merely just allow it to happen. He did it! Who said that God never brings sickness? I heard a minister say just yesterday that God will never cause sickness or suffering, but that is not what I read here. Yes, He is a God who heals, but he can also do anything He wants. And, when you read the rest of the story, you will see that that was the very best thing that ever happened to Saul, or Paul. If God causes it, you know it is good, and in this case, blindness was a good thing.

Are you going through a difficult time? Don't fret or feel like God has abandoned you. He has promised to never leave you or forsake you, and He has also promised to work everything together for your good. And don't forget the other side too, that God loves to bless His children and pour His favor upon all of us. He came to give us life to the fullest! Be encouraged! He is busily at work in your situation even now. However, His ways are not our ways. Don't despise what is happening in your life right now, but ask God what He is trying to teach you or develop in you through this. Be thankful that He is not allowing you to remain shallow or immature, but that He loves you enough to develop you and cause you to grow up and be the best version of you possible. Remember, it is not all about you, but it is about whatever give God the most glory. Whether He has brought it, or the devil is attacking you, or even if you caused it, or if it is just a natural problem because you live on this earth, you can trust that He is doing a good thing in your life. Everything God does is good! To God be the glory!

Scriptures:


James 1:17
New Living Translation (NLT)
17 Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

John 10:10
New International Version (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Romans 8:29
New Living Translation (NLT)
29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Philippians 1:6
New Living Translation (NLT)
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

James 1:2-4
New International Version (NIV)
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Deuteronomy 31:6
New International Version (NIV)
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

John 16:33
New Living Translation (NLT)
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8:18
New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

Psalm 145:17
The Message (MSG)
17 Everything God does is right— the trademark on all his works is love.

Choices

I have had a yearning to write for years, but I am just now getting into the groove. I have decided to begin by sharing spiritual insights that I have learned or things that I have contemplated through my life experiences so that maybe I can help someone else in this journey of life. Ultimately, in all things, our goal is to become more like Christ. We go through things in life to teach us and to mold our characters. We can choose to learn from them or foolishly disregard the wisdom that comes with life's lessons. We are not in this just to gratify our selfish desires, but each one of us has a Divine purpose for our lives. And, the process of watching it unfold is quite exciting!

Today, the thought that is filling my mind is how crucial our choices in life are. The first thoughts that come to mind concerning making life choices are often things like what career to choose, where to go to school, where to live, whom to marry, etc. You know - the big ones! It is exciting when we are young and have our whole lives before us, and we aren't afraid to dream big! However, things don't alway go the way we planned, and we can easily become jaded in life. We often wonder at that point, "What's in it for me?" Life then becomes a process of surviving circumstances that we don't always like or understand but that come to mold our character and to make us stronger. It is wonderful once we have finally gotten to the point of placing our trust in God and being able to say honestly, "I'll go whereever You want me to go, and I'll do whatever You want me to do." It is so exciting when we feel that God's will is leading us to do something magnificent with ourlives, but it is not always as easy to accept the mundane! Hopefully, we will eventually come to a point in which we have learned how important it is to say "yes" to God when it concerns all of life's major decisions, and we realize that the only way life could possibly be fulfilling is to live one that is in line with God's perfect will.

Here is where the rubber meets the road, however. The really significant decisions aren't necessarily the big ones. Some of the most important decisions of our lives are the small daily choices we make. For example, are we going to discipline ourselves to spend quality time with the Lord daily, so that we can receive His wisdom and strength? Or are we going to allow ourselves to tune Him out and try to do all of this on our own? Will we do our very best work and build a positive reputation, or will we be slovenly and ruin future opportunities for promotion? Will we choose to exercise today and eat something healthy, or are we going to allow ourselves to become weak and to fuel our food addictions? We sure know where that leads! Will we take a moment to encourage someone and build that relationship, or are we content to keep to ourselves and eventually complain about being lonely? Am I committed enough to living a positive life that I am willing to reinforce the habit of keeping my environment neat and organized? Or, will I choose the stress of a sloppy and disorderly home? Don't I deserve to live in a comfortable and peaceful place? Does that really mean I have to exert some effort to make that hppen?

Each of these choices leads to an eventual consequence. We can't just do what we feel like doing and leave everything up to chance. It doesn't work that way. Are we willing to make small sacrifices now so that we will reap the benefits later? Or, are we going to gratify our flesh now and pay a severe price later? There is no escaping that! If we really want to live purposeful and effectove lives, we must choose daily which habits we are going to feed. Our choices turn into habits, and our habits create our future. It takes a bit of discipline. Ouch, did I say the "d" word?

Therefore, life is built upon the small choices, like small bricks that are laid one at a time to build an impressive building. What will you choose today? Don't be fooled. Every choice is accompanied by a consequence, good or bad. Every action you choose sets you on a path. Where is it leading? You are who you are and where you are because of your choices. If you don't like who you are or where you are going, make different choices today, and start with the small daily ones. These will eventually become the major life decisions that will set you on a course of success or destruction. It's up to you!

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." Galatians 6:7

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.Watch your words, for they become actions.Watch your actions, for they become habits.Watch your habits, for they become character.Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

God bless!