And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
~Romans 8:28~
Wow! What a thought! All things? Really? Even the what-we-call "bad things"? The answer, as much as I sometimes really do not want to admit it, is yes; even the bad things. You hear people sometimes say, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Well, the answer to that one is simply, they don't. The reason? There are no good people. There is only one good, that is, Christ. We all sin, and, even if there was a person who had committed but one sin in his entire life, what do you think? The smallest of sins is enough to send us to hell for eternity. But, praise God, Christ was, is the propitiation for our sins. All those who call upon His name are redeemed by His blood. Anyway, I got a little off track, there.
If all things work together for the good of them that love God, can anyone tell me what we shouldn't be thankful for in our lives? Anything at all? Yes, that means, I should be thankful that 3 years ago our family was uprooted from our home where we had lived with our friends and family for 15 years, and that we had to move to Colorado where we don't even really know anybody, and can't find a church that preaches the sovereignty of God, even after 3 years. I should be thankful when the car in front of me is going extremely slow, like 15 miles under the speed limit. I should be thankful we didn't get to go to that Bible conference for the past 3 years. I should be thankful I had to quit Tae Kwon Do two years before the rest of the family because of a knee injury that I deemed stupid. I should be thankful for that knee injury that still bothers me, too.
Well, I guess whoever reads this is going to see that it's pretty hard for me to be thankful in all things. And I'm sure there are others with "bad days" that have been worse than mine. But that doesn't change the fact. The fact that all things, all things, work together for good. And that we should be thankful in all the circumstances, good, and, especially, bad (and I say that only because it is naturally harder to be thankful for those things that we say are bad).
There is a purpose to everything God does. If you have read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, you'll know who I mean when I say that Betsie ten Boom, when she and her sister, Corrie, were taken to a new prison camp in the middle WWII, thanked God for the fleas that infested the barracks where they were to sleep. Corrie didn't understand how her sister could thank God for those pesky little creatures. Shortly after, the ladies realized the reason the German guards wouldn't come into that building. Why? Because thy didn't want to risk the fleas.
God is good. God is great. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. And, just maybe, it's a blessing that God put my family, me, right where I am today. In Colorado. Away from everyone I know and care about. I may not know why. But I certainly know that God knows why. He has a reason for everything. And I know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
May God help me to accept these things in my life, cheerfully, as of the Lord. And may He help me to be thankful for them. And may the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be praised, glorified, and honored throughout the earth!
I have two thoughts to share. 1) As much as we try to benefit from the struggles of others and try to see our own troubles as "not so bad" in comparison to theirs we still have to deal with what we have before us. If I'm suffering from a severe toothache, for example, I might try to think of how much better off I am than one who is suffering from the painful realities of Stage 4 cancer. It's good to have perspective and not get overly caught up in things that are somewhat "trivial" in comparison to someone else's situation. But, the reality is the toothache really hurts and it's something that I am dealing with and need to deal with no matter what anyone else is going through. Just because someone else is in more pain or has it harder doesn't change the reality of my situation, I still hurt. But that brings me to point 2) I am so thankful that God has put others in my life to be an example and testimony to the grace of God working in their life through their trials. What I glean from watching my friend struggle with the pain of Stage 4 cancer is her testimony and behavior and attitude while she's going through her suffering. If I see her with a submissive spirit, uncomplaining, blessing God for the good things, still reaching out and spending herself to serve others I'm motivated to do likewise in the midst of my own trial. We can't all handle the same degrees of difficulty, but we can all gracefully handle whatever difficulty is placed before us, through the power of Christ, and be thankful. Good thoughts, thank you for sharing.
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