Reflections from May 24, 2010

Today we read of how Paul describes that all good can come from anything as long as God is involved where he says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Have you ever quoted this verse to someone who was going through a difficult time in their life? Perhaps they lost a spouse, a friend, or lost their job. But what about when it's your turn or mine? Do we read this to ourselves and find comfort in the words? We should because of two important things;
1. All things work together for good, but not all things are good. Many troubles we experience are the direct result of evil. We're never promised immunity from the problems and pains of the world. Every day we must put up with much that is not good.
2. Good can come out of bad. The verse promises that God uses all the circumstances of our lives--both good and bad--to shape outcomes that accomplish His purposes for us. And His purposes can only be good, because God is good by definition. So to make this verse work in troubling times;
* Affirm your trust in God's presences
* Align your goals with God's purposes
* Accept the reliability of God's promises

From Proverbs 23:9 we read, "Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words."

Sometimes I wonder if the person despises the words of wisdom due to jealousy. I'm not sure, but one does see this verse come to life. It's a reminder of Abraham Lincoln's famous quote where he says, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

In Proverbs 24: 17-18 it says, "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Let the Lord see it and it displeases Him, And He turn away His wrath from him."

In the last line, Solomon understands that God has anger toward his enemies and that is why he (Solomon) is such a successful ruler and commander. However, even though we might not lead armies into battle where we need God's wrath against others, we do need God to help us when we are in battle against our personal "enemies".

Sometimes, I see people rejoice when a sporting competitor fail, because that gives them the victory. Solomon's words apply here, because the victor is not winning due to his strength, it's because of the opponent's stumble. And God will be displeased by this action on our part.

Blessings to all