Happy Sunday everyone! Ironically enough, my last blog post began with a little blurb on how it had been a very chaotic two weeks and my blog posting schedule was a little thrown off because of it. It has been an incredibly wild month since I wrote that, and obviously I did not get around to posting at all during that time, unfortunately. It's been a month of excitement and transitions as I am changing jobs and pursuing career goals, all the while trying to keep my head above water as a full time college student trying to stay on the fast track to that diploma. I have had the best intentions to post, and my journal is full of topics I wanted to write about, but evidently they are still nothing more than good intentions. While I know blogging is just a hobby, and there will be no angry mob showing up at my front door if I don't put out new content, I still feel obligated to keep up with this particular hobby of mine. I am very passionate about writing especially when it comes to sharing my love for Jesus, and I kick myself every time I let this slip to the back burner. With all of that being said, I finally have a peaceful early morning haven of quiet where I can sit down and get my thoughts out. Enough about me, now onto the
g o o d s t u f f.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Everyone has heard someone say "God is good." Usually when something goes their way. A stranger pays for their meal in the McDonald's drive thru and thus a subsequent Facebook post is made, saying "God is so good." A stressful ordeal in life ends in one's favor, and they exclaim "God is great!" A family member finished their chemotherapy and gets to ring the symbolic bell, everyone utters "God is good!"
While these are all blessings of varying intensity, and it's noble to give glory to God when we are feeling grateful, saying that He is good in these events implies that he is only good when he works good in our lives. If we thank him for the healing and freedom of cancer, did we once curse him when we got the diagnosis? Or did we praise him in our confusion and anguish just like we do in our joy and thanksgiving?
Is He only good when he answers our prayers according to the way we, as humans, want to see them answered? We are so short sighted when it comes to the biggest picture and the Kingdom of Heaven, so who are we to decide how our prayers should be answered and our disputes resolved? The answer is absolutely not. He is good, ALL THE TIME.
When you pray for a good grade on the test you studied so hard for, and you absolutely tank it, HE IS STILL GOOD.
When it's the middle of the night, and you cry out for peace because you feel overcome with anxiety, but the peace doesn't come, HE IS STILL GOOD.
When tragedy strikes, and you lose a friend or a family member and you just don't understand why, HE IS STILL GOOD.
It may hurt in the moment, but remember that all we can see is the moment and our Creator can see eternity. He can see how we develop humility from a bad test grade, resilience from that restless night, and find understanding that this world is not our home when one of our loved ones goes to join Him.
If anyone is familiar with the bible story of King Nebuchadnezzar and the furnace, you have probably heard of this concept before. If you haven't, I will give you the gist of it. A King challenges three men to prove their faith by walking into a massive, white-hot furnace. He tells them that if their God is real and if their God is good, He will save them. The men agree to the challenge and walk into the flames. Before doing so, they pray a simple prayer. They ask their God to be with them in the furnace, and to save them from the painful death. They end the prayer by saying even if they are walking into their death, they will still be faithful. Because even if God did not save them from the flames, He is still good.
God did not promise to save us from the flames, but he promised to be right beside us as we walk through them. He did not promise we would never feel pain, but he promised to be right next to us the entire way.
I can type this concept over and over, but that doesn't mean it is any easier for me to remember. Just these past few weeks, I have been praising God for all the blessings in my life. I have been celebrating an unforeseen career opportunity and sending so many thanks up to Him. However, in a few weeks when I am up to my ears in new information, a new office, and unfamiliar work, will I still be praising Him? Will I thank Him in the good and the bad times, or am I only grateful in the good times?
This is a lesson I must learn daily, but I serve a God who saves. If He does not save me from the flames today, it is because he saved me a long time ago on the cross. No matter what trials I face today, I know that He is good.
