The Punches part 5
Now before I quote my verse for today--which you already know if you read yesterday's Rant--I want to qualify it. I've spent the last four days trying to help us understand that it's not about good vs evil. It's not about "why do bad things happen to good people?". It rains on the just and the unjust alike. And instead of thinking we're "good" and lamenting the "bad" what we ought to be doing is making sure "good" happens to everybody. We ought to love our neighbors. And bless those that curse us. Take the high road, if I can say it that way. So when we see Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose," we can't look at it from the perspective of, "I love God so all things work together for good... for me." It's not a formula. It's not about earning anything. I believe God is working behind the scenes all the time for everybody. I think most of the time we just miss out on what He's doing because we're so busy trying to make things go the way we want them to. We're too busy trying to change "bad" into "good" that we don't see the whole picture. I think the idea of "them that love God" is more about "them that are AWARE of God's love." I think God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son. And I KNOW God doesn't play favorites. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). If you're aware of God (and His love... the love that He IS) then you can see that even the "bad" is working towards your "good." You understand that life WILL throw punches at you, but you'll be able to roll with them. And even if you get knocked down you'll be able to pick yourself back up. And eventually, as you mature (or come into the completeness of His love), you'll stop getting knocked down at all. You'll learn and grow. You'll get stronger. Remember yesterday we saw that He is the One able to keep us from falling? I always say it like this, "If God is holding you up--and He is--then nothing can knock you down." That's when a setback really IS just a setup for a comeback. That's when "bad" things can happen and you won't even judge them that way. You won't judge by appearance, but you'll judge righteous judgment. You'll be able to take things in stride. And, again, I'm not saying you should just accept everything that happens. I'm saying if you can't accept something, either change it, or change your attitude about it. But you don't have to fight each and every little thing. Because ALL THINGS are working together for your good. And an important word there is "together." Because sometimes isolated incidents seem awful. But when you let the whole deal play out it might have been necessar to go through that to get to something better. Sometimes we have to get uncomfortable before we're willing to move out of our comfort zone. Sometimes we need to get hungry before we'll go out on a limb to get the fruit. So my point is--the point of this whole Rant series, really--don't let anything wreck you. The only true failure is failure to try. Don't give up. Sometimes the long and winding road leads you to the best places. Keep moving forward. Upward and onward. Upward and God-ward! And no matter what happens, just keep rolling with the punches!