“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)
Do you believe everything has a purpose? Romans 8:28 echoes in my mind as I ponder this idea. I’m reminded of heated words that flew during childhood arguments: “You did that on purpose!” God’s ideas, the way He thinks and processes things is so beyond what we can understand, yet does He not give us insight into what He allows and why?
His whole plan of salvation didn’t begin with Jesus’ birth. On some levels, that was the beginning of the end of His plan. In some ways His plan is continuing to unfold in our lives even today. What’s my point? How we interpret the things that happen to us, for good or ill, largely determines how our ideas are shaped and our life is lived.
If I believe God caused my wife to divorce me or caused my son to get cancer it shapes not only how I view God, but how I live my life apart from Him. Why would I want to serve a God I can’t trust or one whom I have reason to suspect isn’t good or doesn’t make or keep His promises? Why would I put faith in something or someone who causes misery and heartache for sport?
Max Lucado stirred my thoughts when he wrote: Don’t see your struggle as an interruption to life but as preparation for life.” But how? How can we make those determinations unless we have something definitive to guide us? Thankfully, we do! It’s called the Bible.
To me the Bible is like a flood light into the darkness of my soul. My mind can lead me in ways that are not only unhealthy, but destructive. God’s Word, the Bible, the Scriptures, whatever you choose to call it, gives us balance to our quest to make sense of life with all it’s twists, turns, and tragedies. The Bible is clear that struggle is part of the deal.
Jesus struggled and He was perfect. I, we, struggle because we have a bent to sin. No one has to teach us to lie, steal, lust, profane the holy name of God, it all comes quite naturally. To interpret the difficulties of life as what we deserve isn’t a hard sell for most of us, but to see through what to us is the obvious, and see a plan, takes faith.
To recognize the fingerprints of God on the tragedies of our existence and understand that while He didn’t cause the problem, He can work for our good in spite of it, is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. We want to rush back to the beginning and ask: “Why did you allow it in the first place?” Failing to see it’s part of what our first parents brought on them and us, in the beginning.
Is life a struggle? Absolutely! Can it be seen, understood, and lived as an avenue of preparation for something much bigger? Better? Beyond our imagination? Without a doubt!
As I write today, I’m struggling with what I pray is the aftermath of Covid. Over the last few days, I’ve literally wondered if this is how someone feels before they die. It’s like a powerful sweeper sucked all my energy out. All my body wants to do is sleep, but the Lord is stirring in my spirit, drawing me to Himself.
All I want to do is be with Him, speak with Him, listen to Him, be assured of His presence. Then it dawned on me – that’s not death, that’s life! So, I praise the Lord for struggles that enable me to see Him more clearly, trust Him more fully, share Him more enthusiastically.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 