I just read again a story that I’d heard years ago about an ancient Chinese legend of an old man and his only son. One night the old man's horse escaped, and the neighbors came to comfort him in his loss. "How do you know this is a bad thing?" he asked them.
Several days later his horse returned with a herd of wild horses. Now his friends came to congratulate the farmer for his good fortune. But the old man said, "How do you know this is a good thing?"
While his son was trying taming one of the wild horses, he is thrown and breaks his leg. Again, his friends gathered to bemoan his new misfortune. But the old man asked, "How do you know this is a bad thing?" Soon a warlord came to recruit able-bodied youth for his army, and the farmer's son escaped conscription because of his broken leg. In true fashion, the farmer's neighbors came and expressed their pleasure over the man's good luck. "How do you know it's a good thing?" he asked. I’m not sure how you end that story but it sure reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote about how God takes all the things of life and weaves them into the tapestry of his perfect will. We all have good things and bad things happen to us…no one is immune to that. But there is a promise for those who have made the decision to love God. He said that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. We have to understand that everything that happens to us in this life isn’t necessarily good by itself. But God will cause it to work towards his goal of good for us, accomplishing his purpose for us and causing us to grow to maturity. It doesn’t mean that you get a pass on pain or that sin doesn’t count…but if we will put our trust in God, he will be working behind the scenes ensuring it will work out for our ultimate good. The thing is that it works only for those who love God and are submitting to his purpose of making us like Christ. But if we will do that, then pain and rejoicing as well as victory and defeat will all be used by God…nothing is wasted. And you may not see that end result in this life. That’s where real trust, real faith comes to play. The Bible tells us that God is as good as his word…so trust him in each season of life and let him work out that hand-tailored plan that is created just for you. Then you can live knowing that nothing is wasted, but put to work for you and your eternal future. Hang in there and keep your heart and eyes on this Jesus of the Bible! Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 8:28 NLT And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
Several days later his horse returned with a herd of wild horses. Now his friends came to congratulate the farmer for his good fortune. But the old man said, "How do you know this is a good thing?"
While his son was trying taming one of the wild horses, he is thrown and breaks his leg. Again, his friends gathered to bemoan his new misfortune. But the old man asked, "How do you know this is a bad thing?" Soon a warlord came to recruit able-bodied youth for his army, and the farmer's son escaped conscription because of his broken leg. In true fashion, the farmer's neighbors came and expressed their pleasure over the man's good luck. "How do you know it's a good thing?" he asked. I’m not sure how you end that story but it sure reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote about how God takes all the things of life and weaves them into the tapestry of his perfect will. We all have good things and bad things happen to us…no one is immune to that. But there is a promise for those who have made the decision to love God. He said that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. We have to understand that everything that happens to us in this life isn’t necessarily good by itself. But God will cause it to work towards his goal of good for us, accomplishing his purpose for us and causing us to grow to maturity. It doesn’t mean that you get a pass on pain or that sin doesn’t count…but if we will put our trust in God, he will be working behind the scenes ensuring it will work out for our ultimate good. The thing is that it works only for those who love God and are submitting to his purpose of making us like Christ. But if we will do that, then pain and rejoicing as well as victory and defeat will all be used by God…nothing is wasted. And you may not see that end result in this life. That’s where real trust, real faith comes to play. The Bible tells us that God is as good as his word…so trust him in each season of life and let him work out that hand-tailored plan that is created just for you. Then you can live knowing that nothing is wasted, but put to work for you and your eternal future. Hang in there and keep your heart and eyes on this Jesus of the Bible! Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 8:28 NLT And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ