All of us have good days and bad days. We even have good years and bad years. Does God ordain such things or does He just let them happen? Is He actively involved in causing them or is He passively watching things happen? Upon this, theologians, preachers and other believers disagree. Let's see if we can find some common ground.
We know that God knows all things. He knows everything that will happen to you. He knows when one of the hairs on your head falls out. He knows that moment long before it happens, long before you notice that you are going bald. He does not stop the hair from falling out. He could have stopped your hair from leaving you but He didn't.
Let's take it a step further. A murder was committed. God knew when, where and how it would be committed. He did not stop it. Is God responsible for the murder? Should some of the responsibility of an action be assigned to someone if they could do something but choose not to? Does that not reflect our own laws which require us to give aid when we see that it is needed?
The Old Testament writers saw each event as one that came from God. They would say that God caused an evil spirit or that God caused a person to do evil without any conflict of knowing Him as a good and benevolent God. They knew what has alluded people in their limited understanding of good and evil. They knew that God causes evil to work together with Himself to effect good.
This is my second attempt to write this blog. I wrote it, edit it (which I seldom do) and sent it to publish. For some reason blogger did not save this blog. I went to the login screen as soon as I hit "publish post." The back button sent me to a blank screen. I lost all but the first two paragraphs of the blog. I was angry to say the least. I wondered why this had happened. God knew what I was writing. He knew that I would lose it upon trying to publish the post and He did nothing to stop it. What is going on here?
God works with all the evil (bad) things that happen to us to effect good. That means He did so even if I don't know the reason why. It means that He did so even if I don't like it. It means He did so even if it makes me lose a part of my day by retyping what I have already written.
I suppose I could call the people at blogger names for allowing something like this to happen. It has happened several times before. I could also ask myself what I am learning from these lost blogs. I believe I should always save before I publish. I believe I should get my own website so I wouldn't be dependent upon someone else. Sometimes you have to be pushed to go through the door of opportunity.
A lady in a church I served developed cancer in her jaw. She went through a horrible round of chemotherapy and radiation before surgery removed much of her jaw. This surgery was followed by subsequent surgeries to make her face look normal again. She told me, "I never want to go through this again but I wouldn't take anything for it either." Her long arduous journey through hell brought her closer than ever to her Lord. The results made the journey worth it.
I have heard that when you are going through hell, just keep going. Yes, God could have stopped the hell but He didn't. That means He has something good that He will cause to come about because of this hell. You will find this at the other end of your hell. You will notice that He was there with you all the way when you look backwards at the path you have taken. You had to keep going or you would never have made it through your hell.
This may be the most horrible day of your life given the circumstances you can see at the moment. Let's not call it anything but hell. However, you are not alone. Remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace (found in Daniel chapter 3) When the king looked it the furnace he saw four in there; not three! One was the Son of God. He never left them alone.
So, you are going through hell. Well, keep going!
Daniel 3:23-25 (NIV)
Then Nebuchadneezer leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O king."
He said, "Look I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the son of the gods."
1 comment:
Thank you, for I needed this today. My husband of almost 12 years doesn't trust me because I lied to him about something I had done prior to our commitment to one another. He believes that I have been unfaithful to him and am still lying. He has stopped sleeping in our bed, stopped eating the food I prepare, stopped sharing a bathroom with me, stopped talking to me, and now he has stopped talking to me even about our children. He even had paternity tests done on our children. This has been going on for over 7 years, ever since I told him the truth. My heart is broken. I don't believe in divorce, but am considering separation because of the emotional abuse. I do not want my sons to believe it is okay to treat another person this way, especially your spouse. Please pray for me. Anyone who reads this, pray for me, my husband, and our boys. My name is Jerri.
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