God’s Surprising Plans for Your Good

Article by Ben Stuart Pastor, Washington, D.C.

Why does God allow trouble to plague his people? How can it be considered loving for him to permit trials to run wild in our lives?

I gained fresh insight into these questions while watching a spellbinding four-minute video called “How Wolves Change Rivers.”

A slightly too exuberant, yet delightfully British narrator recounts the changes that resulted from the entrance of a pack of wolves into the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park. It turns out that deer overpopulation had left massive portions of the park barren. Constant grazing had turned valleys into wastelands. The lack of vegetation had caused soil erosion, which destabilized the banks of the river, slowing the flow of water. The lack of sufficient water and vegetation, in turn, forced wildlife to move on. In short, life was fading from the park.

Then a pack of wolves moved in.

Do you think it would be life-enhancing for a pack of predators to be released into a national park? I imagine your initial response would be, like mine, “No, that sounds terrible.”

But it turns out that it was the best thing that could have happened.

Wolves and a World of Good

The wolves predictably killed a few deer, thinning out the population. However, that was not the most significant change. The remaining deer were forced to move to higher terrain and abandon the grasslands of the valleys.

“Difficulty brings blessing. Hardship brings joy. Wolves change rivers.”

These areas that had been mown down for so long then began to regrow at an accelerated rate. Aspen trees quintupled in size in less than six years. This growth brought back birds to nest in the branches and beavers to eat the wood. The return of the beavers meant the return of beaver dams, which created pools that allowed for the repopulation of fish, otters, ducks, muskrats, reptiles, and amphibians. The wolves also cleared out some of the coyotes, which caused rabbits and mice to return. This change led to the return of hawks, weasels, foxes, and badgers.

Yet the most amazing impact occurred in the river itself. Because grasses were allowed to regrow, the soil collapsed less, allowing for firmer riverbanks. Which gave the river flow greater direction, which reinforced the animal habitats.

In short, the entrance of a few wolves created a whole world of good in Yellowstone National Park, transforming wastelands into lush valleys teeming with life.

So, it turns out that the best thing to do to promote life was to release a few wolves into the valley.

Difficulty Brings Blessing

Why mention all of these phenomena? Try for a moment to imagine a board meeting where, after hearing desperate pleas for help to save the aspen trees of Yellowstone, a park ranger responded by saying, “I’ll tell you what will ensure reforestation: a few more wolves around here!” Would anyone have taken him seriously?

In the same way, I think we would accuse God of being insane if, in response to our cries for greater intimacy with our spouse, greater fruit in our ministries, or greater closeness to him, we heard him say, “You want more life? I’ll tell you what will give it: a medical emergency. Or losing your job. Or a car accident.” We would think he was out of his mind.

But search your past and tell me if it isn’t true: Often the introduction of something difficult, and even dangerous, into our lives by the hand of God results in unanticipated, yet undeniable growth. Difficulty brings blessing. Hardship brings joy. Wolves change rivers.

This reality does not mean we should court danger. What it does mean, however, is that we should pause before we accuse God of injustice or indifference when he allows hardship to enter our lives. It just might be the best thing for us. In fact, for those who love him, and are called according to his purposes, it will be his working to produce his best for us.

Count It All Joy

James certainly thought so. In James 1:2–4 he went so far as to say, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

“Often, God sees that something unpleasant will lead to a thousand good consequences.”

James was so certain that the introduction of difficulty into our lives carries the potential to bring blessing that he called us to rejoice, not only after the trial has ended, but even while we are still in it.

Which does not mean we need to pretend that difficulties are pleasant. They are not. Nor does it mean we should not pray to be delivered from, or seek to remove, hardships from our lives. Both are permissible.

However, we gain much hope from this realization: Often our loving God sees that bringing something unpleasant into our lives will lead to a thousand good consequences. Therefore, as a good caretaker of our souls, he will allow wolves to enter for a season.

So, when hardships come, we can cease shaking our fist and yelling at God, and instead lean into him and listen. He is good. He does care. He works all things together for the good of his children — even the arrival of wolves.

Ben Stuart (@Ben_Stuart_) is pastor of Passion City Church, which he helped plant in Washington, D.C.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/gods-surprising-plans-for-your-good

A Life-Changing Sentence in Deuteronomy

When was the last time you started a Bible reading plan with the book of Deuteronomy?

Maybe you should. There’s a life-changing sentence in the first chapter of this historical book that we need more than ever today.

To briefly set the scene, God commanded his people to leave Horeb and enter the Promised Land. The Israelites were understandably afraid of the battle that lay ahead, but instead of bringing their fear before the Lord, they chose to murmur in their tents.

The result of their self-counsel? Their conclusion is shocking: “Because the Lord hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.” (Deuteronomy 1:27, ESV)

This Old Testament narrative couldn’t make it any clearer: we are always preaching to ourselves.

There’s something else to be said: theology is not just something we study in the academic classrooms of seminary; theology is the lens through which we examine and respond to everyday life. Our understanding of God will inescapably shape our perspective on our circumstances.

But maybe their conclusion shouldn’t be so shocking. I’m deeply persuaded that we, just like the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 1, are always asking five deeply theological questions. The way we answer them will push us toward hope or panic.

1. Is God Good?

You can rest assured that the goodness of God will confuse you. What looks good from God’s perfect eternity-to-destiny perspective doesn’t always seem good to us at street level.

2. Will God Do What He Promised?

Few questions in life are more important than this one. Since we are small and weak, since we never really know what is going to happen next, and since God calls us to do difficult, sacrificial things, we need to know that his promises are reliable.

3. Is God In Control?

In some ways, all the other questions rest on this one. God’s promises are only as trustworthy as to the extent of his control. What good is his goodness if he lacks the authority to exercise it?

4. Does God Have The Needed Power?

You will be motivated to do what you don’t have the natural ability to do when you know that God’s awesome power is with you. Confidence in God’s power produces courage in the face of weakness and enables you to admit your limits while living with courage and hope.

5. Does God Care About Me?

Perhaps this is the question we’re most conscious of, but the Bible never debates God’s care; it assumes and declares it. God’s care is foundational. It lets me know that all that he is, he is for me.

What are you preaching to yourself? What are you saying to you about the goodness, promises, control, power, and care of God?

As you ask these questions, remember that he is so rich in grace that he will never turn a deaf ear to your cries.

God bless,

Paul David Tripp

Reflection Questions

1. Read the first full chapter of Deuteronomy. What additional application can you find in the text? How does it relate to your life right here, right now?

2. Which of the five questions have you asked most recently? What prompted you to ask this question?

3. How did you answer that question? Where did your answer find its inspiration or evidence?

4. Are you murmuring in your tent? What unbiblical thoughts or beliefs are you preaching to yourself? How can you combat these with gospel truths?

5. Who do you know who is discouraged or afraid? How can you help them avoid a Deuteronomy 1:27 response? Be specific.

Posted at: https://www.paultripp.com/wednesdays-word

Be Good for God's Sake

Article by Jen Wilken

“Be good.”

How many times did I say it as I walked out the door, leaving my kids in the care of another? Spoken in that context, it expressed a parting wish that the little one to whom it is spoken would, at bare minimum, not do anything bad, and at best, be a source of help and joy to the caregiver in charge.

When the kids were small, it was hard to find sitters brave enough to take on all four of them. It was harder still to find money to make it worth the sitter’s time and still be able to afford dinner out. When I told the kids to be good, I needed them to be. It was code for “Please don’t drive off this teenager, whom I really need to have a positive experience.”

You know the rules. They are for your good. For our sake, please abide by them. Until your parents return, be good.

Jesus spoke a similar word to his disciples on a mountainside:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 5:14–16)

Be good. Others will see it. You’ll be a light causing others to glorify the Father of lights.

GOOD AS HE IS GOOD

But what does it mean to be good as his children? As those who are the recipients of the good and perfect gifts of God, goodness toward others means generosity. It means we recognize that God gives us good things not so that they might terminate on us, but so that we might steward them on behalf of others.

The tenth commandment forbids coveting because doing so denies the goodness of God. Jesus speaks against hoarding because doing so denies the goodness of God. Coveting implies a lack in God’s present provision and hoarding anticipates a lack in God’s good provision in the future. Neither mindset will translate into generosity. Generosity flourishes only when we do not fear loss.

Possessing the good and perfect gift of Christ, we can count all generosity as affordable loss. God gives good things to us generously, risking no loss in doing so. We, too, should give good things to others generously, recognizing that we, too, risk no loss in doing so. We can be generous with our possessions, our talents, and our time on behalf of others because we see these good gifts as a means to bring glory to their Giver instead of to us.

AN EARTHLY PICTURE OF HEAVENLY GOODNESS

Generosity is not strictly for those who have material abundance. Because Oseola McCarty recognized this truth, the world is a better place. Born in 1908 in rural Mississippi, she quit school after sixth grade to support her ailing aunt, spending the rest of her life as a washerwoman. She never married, lived quietly in her community, and attended church regularly with a Bible held together with Scotch tape.

Throughout the years, the people of Hattiesburg paid her in coins and dollar bills to keep them looking freshly pressed. She found immense dignity in her work, noting that hard work gives life meaning. “I start each day on my knees, saying the Lord’s Prayer. Then I get busy about my work.”[1]

In 1995, at the age of eighty-six, she contacted the University of Southern Mississippi to let them know she would be donating a portion of her life savings to fund scholarships for African- American students to receive the education she had missed—a sum of $150,000. “More than I could ever use. I know it won’t be too many years before I pass on,” she said, “and I just figured the money would do them a lot more good than it would me.”[2]

Oseola McCarty, child of poverty and child of God, wanted to do good, and generously so. Praise God. Those who know good awaits them in heaven can afford to be generous on earth. They lose nothing in the giving of what has been given to them.

Generosity is the hallmark of those who are determined to be lights in the darkness as children of their heavenly Father. It is the calling card of all who are recipients of the generous good news of salvation through Christ.

BE GOOD FOR GOD’S SAKE

Be good. Be the person who seeks the welfare of others. Be the person who gives without counting the cost. Be the person who serves joyfully with no expectation of thanks or recognition. Be good employees, good next-door neighbors, good parents, good children, good musicians and public servants and artists and volunteers and caregivers and bankers. If you are, you’ll draw attention like a city on a hill at midnight in the desert.

But don’t expect that others will necessarily flock to your light in glad acceptance. The somewhat surprising thing about doing good is how often it meets with a negative reaction. Others may see your good deeds and give glory to God, but they may not. Cynics call the chronically benevolent “do-gooders.” Their exceeding goodness is indeed a light, and to those who love darkness, it’s also exceedingly unwelcome. It has a similar effect to that of sunlight hitting the crawly critters exposed under an overturned rock in the garden. Exposing the goodness deficit of others, the do-gooder meets with reviling.

Take, for example, the ultimate do-gooder, Jesus himself.

DON’T GROW WEARY OF DOING GOOD

“He went about doing good. . . . They put him to death by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 10:38–39). Peter’s words to the Gentiles about how evil responds to good instruct us. If we are to walk in the light as he is in the light, we will strive to be good and do good, and we should prepare to be treated as he was treated. There is no room among the children of God for any goodness aimed at securing favor with God or others.

Only a goodness aimed at expressing our gratitude to a good God will do. Only a goodness seeking to reflect him will suffice. Only a goodness bent on loving our neighbor will store up treasure in heaven. If our neighbor rejects us, so be it. We have done as Christ would have done. If our neighbor accepts us and glorifies God, we rejoice with the angels.

It will not do to “be good for goodness’ sake”—we must be good for Goodness’s sake—for God’s sake, whose goodness we daily enjoy. And we must persist in being good. Paul encourages us that goodness may be wearying, but that it yields a harvest: “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).

The fight for goodness is one that will take time and effort. We may grow weary of our own internal resistance to growing in goodness, or we may grow weary of the resistance of others to our goodness lived out. But steadfastness in doing good will yield fruit in season. As it ripens, it will mark us out increasingly as the sons and daughters of the Father of Lights.

[1] Karl Zinsmeister, “Oseola McCarty,” The Philanthropy Roundtable, “The Philanthropy Hall of Fame,” accessed June 27, 2017, http://www .philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/hall_of_fame/oseola_mccarty/.

[2] Rick Bragg, “All She Has, $150,000, Is Going to a University,” The New York Times online, August 12, 1995, http://www.nytimes.com /1995/08/13/us/all-she-has-150000-is-going-to-a-university.html.

Content taken from In His Image: 10 Ways God Calls Us to Reflect His Character by Jen Wilkin, ©2018. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.org.

Jen Wilkin is a speaker, writer, and teacher of women’s Bible studies. During her seventeen years of teaching, she has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. Jen and her family are members of the Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas.

Posted at: http://gcdiscipleship.com/2019/01/10/be-good-for-gods-sake/

GOOD

Article by Paul David Tripp

The word rolls off our tongue so easily.

Good.

“Wow, this cereal is so good!”
“We had a good time at the park.”
“Let me tell you where to get a good cup of coffee.”
“Sam is a really good husband.”

It’s become such a familiar and mundane word in our vocabulary that our mind doesn’t take the time to consider the content. So when we read that God is good, what’s meant to happen inside our soul doesn’t always happen.

“Truly God is good to Israel” - Psalm 73:1. When you read the words, “God is good,” your heart should be filled with many things: wonder, amazement, gratitude, and humility, to name a few.

But I am convinced that many of us live day after day with no wonderment whatsoever. We exist for weeks, maybe even months, without being amazed. We walk through life without an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We handle our situations, locations, and relationships with an attitude of entitlement.

This is the opposite of the way we were created to live. We were meant to live with eyes gazing upward and outward. We were designed to live with hearts that are searching and hungry (and being satisfied in God).

Every word we speak, every action we take, every decision we make, and every desire we entertain was meant to be influenced by our awe of God’s goodness.

But because of sin, few things impress us anymore. Or, at least, the wrong things are the ones that make the biggest impression.

When sin takes your amazement away, you’ll look for ways to fill the void. And if you’re not getting your sense of wonder vertically from the Creator, you will look for it somewhere in the creation.

Has it happened to you? Are you shopping for the buzz of wonder where it simply won’t be found?

That new restaurant will blow your taste buds away, but it won’t introduce you to the soul-satisfying wonder of God. That new car will transport you in luxury for a while, but it has no capacity whatsoever to transport your soul to a place of peace. Your new job title might impress your friends and family at first, but it cannot supply you with the glory that you’re seeking.

Asaph, the Psalmist, uncovers what we’re all looking for in a single word:

“Good”

We’re looking for pure, unadulterated, imperishable, unending, and unfailing good. Good that only God can provide. Good that we want and need.

Truly, God is good in every possible way. Good in:

Righteousness
Power
Grace
Faithfulness
Provision
Mercy
Holiness
Justice
Anger
Sovereignty

All his words are good. All his actions are good. When he gives, he is good. When he takes, he is good.

Nothing in creation is like him. Everything around us is flawed in some way. Even before the Fall, no glory in creation compared to the beauty of the Creator.

No, it’s not too good to be true: God is good all the time and in every way.

That should amaze you every single day!

God bless

Reflection Questions

1. What have you described as good this week?

2. Why did you believe it to be good?

3. In what ways does the goodness of this thing fail to measure up to the goodness of God?

4. At the same time, how does the goodness of that thing reveal the goodness of God?

5. How can you live with more wonder, amazement, gratitude, and humility this week, at the thought of the goodness of God?

Posted at: pauldavidtripp.com

Learn to Love All That's Good

Article by Hannah Anderson

Ask ten different Christians to define discernment and you’ll likely get ten different answers.

For some, discernment is the ability to uncover scandal or spot doctrinal error, the stuff of church members who stand ready with a critique of the pastor’s sermon. For others, discernment is a kind of sixth sense, a gut instinct that kicks in when you need to make an important decision. If you are a discerning person, you’ll “just know” what to do. Still others see discernment as the ability to decode the hidden agenda and secret meaning behind seemingly innocent things — things like the design of a coffee cup or a holiday colloquialism.

Outside the Christian subculture, however, discernment carries a much simpler, and more positive, meaning. We say that a museum curator has a discerning eye or that an award-winning chef has a discerning palate. What we mean is that a person has skill in a certain field or has developed a refined taste through education and experience. A discerning person is someone who has an appreciation for goodness.

Interestingly enough, Scripture affirms a similar understanding of discernment in Philippians 1:9–10, where Paul prays that the believers’ love “may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent.” While a discerning person will be able to identify what is not good, he can do so only if he has developed a taste for what is good. He can spot a fake Renoir because he knows what a real one looks like.

How to Become Discerning

So how can we grow in our understanding of goodness? How can we become discerning people?

If you ask a museum curator how he developed his eye for quality, he’ll likely tell you about his formal education. He’ll also tell you about how experience and contact with masterworks cultivated his sensibility. A chef might tell you about attending culinary school or working under an award-winning mentor. But she’ll also tell you about her years working in the kitchen and the countless dishes she’s tasted. While discernment may eventually come to feel like a sixth sense, discernment develops through education, experience, and quite simply, exposure to goodness.

When we consider how we develop spiritual discernment — the kind that Paul talks about in Philippians 1 — the process is similar. In order to grow in our appreciation for goodness, we must be transformed “by the renewal of [our] mind[s], that by testing [we] may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Just as a chef’s palate grows through both schooling and experience, we grow in discernment both by educating ourselves in goodness and by encountering it firsthand.

This need for firsthand experience is something of what Paul is getting at in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Having opened his letter to the Philippians with a prayer for discernment, Paul now closes it with practical advice. Do you want to be able to approve what’s excellent? Seek whatever is true. Do you want to be able to navigate the world with wisdom? Seek whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. Do you want to become a discerning person? Seek whatever is good.

Good Gifts from a Good God

But even as we begin to understand discernment as a thirst for goodness, even as we begin to desire discernment for ourselves, we might remain wary of Paul’s instruction. For some of us, it might feel dangerous to give ourselves to actively seeking good things. After all, even good things have the potential to distract us from what really matters. If we give ourselves to whatever is good, won’t our eyes become focused on this life and miss heaven’s priorities?

While it’s true that our hearts quickly go astray, the problem is not with God’s good gifts, but our own lack of goodness. And while it may seem counterintuitive, God actually intends for his good gifts to be a means of changing our hearts to love him as we should.

After praying that believers would learn to approve what is excellent, Paul continues by explaining that this process will lead to our being made “pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:10–11). In other words, something about seeking whatever is true, honorable, just, lovely, pure, and commendable leads to our good and God’s glory.

To understand Paul’s logic, we must remember that God himself defines what is good. Goodness is not an abstract or culturally defined category. It is not simply what we like or what we deem to be valuable. Instead, something is good if it aligns with God’s character. So when we seek whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable, we are not seeking whatever we want. We’re seeking things, people, and experiences that reflect his glory and show us what he is like. And in seeking him, we will be transformed.

Settling for Something Less

The genius of Paul’s instruction in Philippians 4:8 is that focusing our hearts and minds on goodness focuses our hearts and minds on God. Just as encountering a masterpiece shapes and cultivates a curator’s eye, encountering God’s nature can shape and cultivate our own taste for goodness. But seeking virtue does something else: it confronts our own lack of goodness.

We commonly read Philippians 4:8 as a filter for choosing what to take into our lives. Learning to seek whatever is true means evaluating messages to determine whether they are both factually and ethically accurate. If an article comes across my social-media feed, for example, seeking whatever is true forces me to test it before I accept it. Is it accurate? Does it portray the facts honestly, or does it bend the truth to fit a certain bias or narrative?

But seeking whatever is true also means testing my own honesty as a reader. Am I reading this article with integrity? How are my presuppositions or group loyalties blinding me to what the author says? Suddenly my own motives, biases, and emotional responses are laid bare, measured against the standard of God’s own truthfulness. And in that moment, I have the opportunity to align my heart with God’s character or to settle for something less than truth.

The problem, of course, is that too often we settle. We convince ourselves that we are seeking truth when we really just want to use facts as weapons against our ideological opponents.

Instead of seeking truth, we settle for winning arguments.
Instead of seeking honor, we settle for fame.
Instead of seeking justice, we settle for being right.
Instead of seeking purity, we settle for legalistic boundaries.
Instead of seeking beauty, we settle for sentimentality.
Instead of seeking what is commendable, we settle for hot takes.

Like C.S. Lewis noted in “The Weight of Glory,” we are half-hearted creatures whose desire for goodness is not too strong but too weak. Instead of becoming discerning, we remain ignorant children, content to “go on making mud pies in a slum because [we] cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (26). And in missing the sea, we miss the God who made it.

The God Who Makes Us Good

But even here, a good God has made a way. The good news of the gospel is that even poor, ignorant children can be made wise. The good news of the gospel is that a good God sent his good Son to make us good once again.

When the Scripture invites us to seek whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable, it is inviting us to discover a God who himself is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. And when we encounter this God, we will be changed. Like a refiner’s fire burning away the dross, he will purify us to make us like himself. And out of his abundant goodness, he will teach us to love all that’s good.

Hannah Anderson (@sometimesalight) lives in the haunting Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She spends her days working beside her husband in rural ministry, caring for their three children, and scratching out odd moments to write at her blog Sometimes a Light. She is the author of All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment.

Posted at: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/learn-to-love-all-thats-good?fbclid=IwAR09XPSOc5wEOgtSghp_3UmAGz1sAH-FrlAMa6zvt7GIt9_3S61keiEf9vg

Does God Work All Things Together for Our Good?

Article by Sarah Walton

It’s so comforting to know that God is working all things for our good, isn’t it? That is, until we realize that his idea of good is often very different than our own.

We’ve all experienced this at some point. Perhaps we have prayed for something, only to receive the very opposite of what we’ve longed for. At other times, a path we’ve pursued with great energy suddenly redirects, or an expectation we’ve had unravels before our eyes.

These experiences form crossroads that all Christians will eventually face. When our untested faith in God’s goodness is suddenly challenged, we’re left with the question–

How can I believe God works for my good when what he’s allowing seems far from it?

Lately, as I’ve freshly wrestled with this question, I’ve meditated on a verse we often run to–and often misunderstand:

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)

As we read this verse, we first have to understand what Paul means when he says, “for those who love God all things work together for good.” What is our good and what is his purpose? To answer that, we have to look at the verses that follow:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

In other words, the “good” God has promised his children is to conform them to the image of Christ, for the purpose of bringing himself glory.

So here’s the encouragement for us if we’re facing circumstances that seem far from good: God is using our afflictions to produce the good we would desire had sin not blinded our hearts and minds. Here are three ways God uses affliction for our good and his purposes.

He exposes what we love.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. (1 John 2:15-16)

God is a jealous God. He loves us too much to allow us to settle our heart’s affections on the world. Therefore, he uses our trials to test our faith and challenge what and who we really love most. For those who love God, affliction serves as a chiseling tool in the hand of our Divine Sculptor, chipping away at all that competes for our affections. Gradually, in his severe mercy, he chips away “good things” from our life to loosen our grip on our earthly home, to fill our empty hands with more of himself, and to draw us heavenward.

He does not remove anything from us that he will not abundantly replace with something far greater than we ever could have imagined. God truly is working all things together for the good, the eternal good, of those who love him.

He humbles us.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. (1 Peter 5:6)

Suffering wakes us up to our frailty and sinfulness. While we may have been able to live under the smoke screen of our outward goodness and perceived control for a time, suffering opens our eyes to reality. When affliction presses in on us, it brings us low and reveals what’s truly in our hearts. As discouraging as this can be, God uses it for our good to reveal how desperately sick we are apart from his grace. Through it God shows how miraculous and magnificent salvation in Christ truly is.

Over time, as the Spirit humbles us under God’s mighty hand, our plea for changed circumstances begins to lessen and our plea for changed hearts begins to increase. That is truly a mark of God’s faithfulness to his promise to work all things together for the good of those who love him.

He loves us far too much to settle for giving us temporary comforts and pain-free lives that blind us to our need for him. God knows that the short-term trials of this life are not worth comparing to the treasures that await us for all eternity in his presence.

He points us to the cross.

But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands. (Isaiah 53:10)

Joni Eareckson Tada said, “God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.” There is no greater evidence of this than the cross of Jesus Christ. God permitted what he hates–the sacrifice of his Son–to accomplish what he loves–salvation for all who will put their trust in him.

As Christians, we need to look at the words of Romans 8:28 through the lens of the cross. If we assume that it means God is working through all things to bring about a comfortable, prosperous, pain-free life on earth, we will quickly question his love, faithfulness, and goodness. And we certainly won’t follow him for long. But if we grasp that the “good” he promised us is rooted in the same good brought about through the cross, we will humbly submit ourselves to what he allows, trusting that our suffering, though painful in the moment, is working for our eternal good. Namely, to reflect the image of Christ.

This is the greatest good that God can bring about in our lives. Not only to transform us into the image of Christ, but to change our heart’s desires to align with his.

The deepest joy I’ve experienced in my life has come through God removing many “good” things from my life and opening my eyes to how much I seek joy and satisfaction in things apart from him. It has brought about greater awareness of how undeserving I am of his forgiveness and how sinful I am apart from his grace.

Look to the Cross

Brother or sister, what are you facing that feels far from good? Look to the cross and remember that things aren’t always as they seem. As Randy Alcorn said:  

Good Friday isn’t called bad Friday because we see it in retrospect: We know that out of the appalling bad came inexpressible good. And that good trumps the bad. Although the bad was temporary, the good was eternal. If someone had delivered Jesus from his suffering, Jesus could not have delivered us from ours.

Let’s look to Christ in whatever circumstances we are facing. We can trust that he will be faithful to his promise. He’ll work all things together for the good of those called according to his purpose. And this will be for our joy and for his glory.

Posted at: https://unlockingthebible.org/2018/10/god-work-all-things-together-our-good/