11/25/2020
Some believe that we should obey God simply because He expects us to, and in some cases it appears to us that this is His desire, but later, in retrospect, we find that what God asked of us, His will, was for our ultimate good all along. Our Heavenly Father is not arbitrary, and all that he does, and asks, is for a purpose; for our good. Thus the question becomes this... do we trust in Him enough to do those things He asks of us even when we don’t fully understand, or see the good in them?
“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.””
Matthew 26:39 ESV
Jesus knew that God wanted Him to go to the cross on Calvary, and why it was ultimately good that He do so, but what did the two robbers understand was good for them as they were nailed to their crosses, and stood up to suffer on either side of our Lord? In fact, the one asked Jesus to remember him to His father, and was told that he would be with Him in paradise that night, while the other, who didn’t believe, and appeared lost, was later forgiven by Jesus with the rest of the crowd that had gathered around to see the crucifixion of Christ... They received grace.
“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””
Luke 23:33, 39-43 ESV
Yes, sometimes we can understand the good that is being asked of us, and what awaits us if we obey God’s will, but many times His will remains a mystery. Take God’s blameless and upright servant Job for example. He was most certainly allowed to suffer, and couldn’t have possibly understood the reason why he was made to withstand such torment. Why would God allow this to happen? Job lost everything despite his obedience, and faith, in God, but by remaining firm in his trust he was not only rewarded doubly, but also saved the souls of his friends, and over the course of time, saved millions more who were teetering on the brink of losing their faith. All of this because of his example of unyielding faith. All things had worked together for good, because Job had loved the Lord, and been obedient to Him, and His will.
“Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”
Job 42:8-10 ESV
God desires that we experience His goodness, but His ways are different from ours, and they can appear to be harmful to us when we don’t understand what His true intentions are, and in our ignorance we remain blind to the good He has prepared for us. Have you ever been surprised when what looked like a disaster turned into a blessing? This happened in the story of Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery, but God gave him the gift of interpreting dreams, and this eventually made him second only to pharaoh... and allowed him to save his family from famine. When we love God, obey His will, and expect His good, then things such as this happen to us too. Sometimes they are wonderful Bible stories, but quite often we simply call them miracles... like running out of wine at a wedding feast only to receive the best wine ever by obeying Jesus Christ.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the good we find within your will, and thank you for giving us the patience, and trust we need as we wait for that goodness when it isn’t obvious to us. Help us Lord to trust you more, and help us to increase our strength of faith. You take what we see as potentially harmful, and by being true to your Word give us the blessings and miracles you had planned for us all along. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our good, and loving, God whose mercy is found surrounding us. We praise your name for every good thing we find embedded within your will, and for those things we believe will cause us to suffer because of our misunderstanding of your intentions. The disciples thought that Jesus had died on Calvary, only to find that He had risen from the tomb, defeated death, and redeemed us from our sin. Hear our prayers Father, witness our faith in Christ, and find us worthy to be judged righteous when we stand before you covered in the blood of redemption, standing in the shadow of your grace, and immersed in your perfect will. Welcome us into your house, and seat us at your table forever, and we will worship you for eternity.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
Rich Forbes