A rookie's mistake & a desperate God
I don’t know about ya’ll, but for the longest time, Romans 8:28 was one of my favorite verses.“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” As someone who grew up in the church almost all of my life, I took comfort in the fact that, as someone who claims to love and follow Jesus, everything will be all good for me.
Rookie mistake.
See, God works all things for our good, but His definition of my good and my definition of my good differ a lot in the way a parent’s definition of doing right by their child differs from the child’s definition of their parent doing right by them. If children always got their way, are their parents doing what is best for them? No.
It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s that I realized this. In the midst of hard or difficult times, it’s so easy to question “Why God?” In the end, the answer is always “for My glory.”
Between my entitled and selfish spirit and my limited, temporal understanding of an eternal God, one of my favorite verses quickly soured. Thoughts like: “If God loved me, how could He let bad things happen to me/to those I loved/to good people?” “Why does He need all this glory anyway - is He that desperate?” “How is this for my good if it feels so bad?” “How is it that He would get glory from my pain,” ran through my head.
It wasn’t until I was at my lowest point in life when I watched Him use my darkest hour to let His love and mercy shine the brightest. He didn’t take away my pain, but the way my life was stitched back together in 2017 and now in 2018 was the greatest display of His glory, and it did ultimately pan out for my good. I am a different person now than I was then.
So if you are going through dark times and feel like there is no hope, look up and have faith. We will never understand the infinite mind of God, but can rest knowing that His glory and our good will come from everything He does, even if we can’t see or understand it. If you are like me, the season you are in may be great, but the stresses and concerns of daily life constantly weigh on you - still look up and have faith.
In every situation and in every season, He is working to “complete the good work He started in us.” (Phil. 1:6).
Cheers,
Sarah
