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Since everything God created is good, we should not reject
any of it but receive it with thanks ~ 1 Timothy 4:4 NLT I just had a difficult conversation with a dear friend who has been going through a very painful time. Like her, in those times we naturally want to ask God, “Why?” When the answer isn’t obvious, Isaiah 55:8,9 tells us that God’s ways and thinking are not like our own, but “higher” and “beyond anything you can imagine”. So how do we get comfortable with those lingering “why’s”? It seems the Bible repeatedly shifts our attention from the unanswered question to who God is in those times. Among his infinite qualities, he is loving, faithful, always for us and on our side, unchanging, sovereign and always good. If he is good, then it follows that all that he does is good. In Genesis, he called all he had created good. He even pronounced us good in the Garden before Satan tempted us to disobey. There is evidence of God’s goodness wherever we look. We can look back into our own lives and see he chose us and saved us and has a wonderful plan for our eternal lives. That is certainly good! He knows the beginning from the end, has promised to go before us and guard our backs, and places his hand of blessing upon our heads. (Ps.139:5) His natural creations on earth and the endless, mysterious cosmos that gloriously surrounds us are very good. I think if we look with his eyes we can see evidence of his goodness wherever we look. If his works prove his goodness, that should reassure us when we lose our way. In the darkness in which we temporarily find ourselves, we can remember that even the darkness is light to our Lord, and he is always with us to guide us through into his glorious light. We are safe in his care, and we can claim his promises, then stand back, and see him answer our prayers. Our God is very GOOD! Where do you see evidence of God’s goodness in your life today? Dear friends, when you are tempted to get lost in the “why’s”, be blessed with confident hope knowing that you belong to a good God, who loves you, delights in you and wants to shower you with his blessings. Look to him expectantly and recognize and be comforted by the evidence of his goodness every day. Amen. Mary Sumner ~ November, 2020
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God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9 NLT So many people have been afraid of the results of this Presidential election. As I write this, I do not know who won. No matter who we think the “right” candidate was, God knew who the next President would be. So how does he want us to respond? Jesus gives a description of the character of his Kingdom people in what we call The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10). As we study them, we see that all of them hinge on right relationships, with God, ourselves and others. They include knowing our need for God, being compassionate, humble, committed to justice, merciful, pure of heart (honest, trustworthy), peace-loving and willing to work for peace, and willing do act righteously even to the point of persecution. As we study the list of blessings given to his people for manifesting Kingdom characteristics, the blessing for working for peace, “they will be called children of God”, may not seem like the most glamorous at first glance. But, stop and think. Could it mean, they will be recognized as God’s children because they act like their Father”? What higher praise can there be?! Our relationship with Father God was so precious to him, that to restore peace with us, he sent his Son Jesus to die in our place in order to reconcile us to himself. Jesus became one with us, so that we can be one again with the Father. If we are to be recognized as our Father’s children, what Jesus did is our model for peacemaking. We are most like God when we reject fear, anger, resentment and hurt and forgive our persecutors. Instead, we value our relationship with God so much that we are willing to love sacrificially, and get to know and humbly serve others with the same attitude with which Christ loves and serves us. So, what can you and I do to begin to bring peace to our spheres of influence? Jesus told us to treat others as we would want them to treat us. Let’s keep focused on our Savior, the one who has already overcome the world (Jn.16:33), and trust him to guide, protect and restore us and the our broken relationships through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus left us the gift of peace of mind and heart (Jn.14:27). Let’s allow him to fill us with that peace and love, so that it overflows to those around us and shifts the atmosphere. Let’s make our Father proud and act more like him by becoming true peacemakers by bringing people to know Jesus. Dear friends, be blessed with pure joy as you realize the heights to which God calls you. He who calls you is faithful and by his power you can and will overcome! Know today and every day that you are loved, valued beyond your wildest imagination and always one with God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Mary Sumner ~ November, 2020 |
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