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Pastimes : Ask and You Shall Receive -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sa-mule who wrote (3117)	11/7/2001 2:11:40 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14396

Sam: Are you amazed at how resilient she is? She is not going through this alone, and neither are you. He goes ahead of us, and this is not a suprise to Him! He has the answers! Believe me, I know is not easy! Westi

To: sa-mule who wrote (3117)	11/7/2001 3:57:04 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 14396

Our daily life is full of things incomprehensible to us: traffic accidents, innocent bloodshed, beautiful sunrises, and inconvenient interruptions. Would you believe that God is in all of it–the good and the bad? In Isaiah 55:8-9, God says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways." God’s sovereignty is just that–sovereign. We don’t understand it. We often would neither choose to do what God does nor decide what God decides. David’s life offers jewels that exemplify God’s sovereignty reigning above human understanding. He gifted David with several talents–including leadership ability, bravery in fighting, and musical talent–and led David to apply them in ways that may have been difficult to understand at the time. Instead of using man-made armor to fight Goliath, God chose to exemplify His power by giving David pebbles with which to fight. Instead of choosing Jesse’s oldest or strongest son to be the next king, God chose David–a loyal sheepherder. Have you ever been placed in a situation or circumstance that just makes absolutely no sense to you? Imagine how David must have felt as he was chosen to play the harp to pacify Saul’s moodiness and depression. The heir-apparent to the throne of Israel was in another king’s court playing music. But God used this time in Saul’s court to expose David to governmental affairs; this time prepared him for his future reign over Israel. Imagine how soldiers felt when Joshua, in obedience to the Lord’s command, told them to march around Jericho to bring the walls down. But God was faithful to use Joshua’s obedience–no matter how ridiculous it might have seemed in the human mind–to accomplish His will. We must always remember that our view is limited while God has the "big picture" in sight. Deuteronomy 29:29 reinforces the truth that God chooses to conceal some things from us, but He does reveal to us His desire for us to obey Him through His Word: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." It’s easy to believe God’s sovereignty when He blesses us with what we view as good things, but it is often much more difficult to believe that God is in control when bad things happen. Joseph realized God’s hand in even the worst of circumstances. Even after his brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph relied on the Lord’s sovereignty in the situation. He later told his brothers, "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt" (Genesis 45:5-8). God allows bad things to happen in the lives of believers and unbelievers. He uses our circumstances: As tools to bring about His will To exhibit His power He allows our sin: To exhibit to us our need for Him–our works don’t keep us obedient to God; trusting Him keeps us obedient to Him. The minute we begin to think we’ve got this Christian life figured out and are beginning to live it as we should, God allows us to fall on our faces so that we acknowledge our pridefulness and depend upon Him. To teach us the consequences of our sin. To exhibit His grace and mercy when we repent. (Romans 3:23) He allows unbelievers to reject or accept Christ, but consequences always apply to sin. He offers the gift of eternal life to all who are willing to admit they need Him as their Savior, to all who will receive Him. But He does not force anyone to accept Him. God is indeed involved in everything. He is indeed sovereign. Although it is difficult at times, we need to trust in God’s providence as Joseph did: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive" (Genesis 50:20). Be encouraged that God is involved in every area of our lives because His ultimate purpose is to conform us into the image of His Son. (Romans 8:28-29) intouch.org