The Final Say
It was an overcast but nice day in Atlanta. We attended Restoration Church, where son-in-law Nathan’s father (Don Munn) serves as the Lead Pastor. Before his message on “hope” he shared my testimony video and provided an opportunity for me to share some remarks. We enjoyed seeing many who we have met in past years and that have been praying for me over the past year and a half.
After enjoying a nice lunch out we returned home to get some rest and get ready to watch the Bronco game. Before we left church after the morning service I had Stephanie take a picture of the two grandfather and their grandchildren.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all;the Lord preserves them completely…” Psalm 34:19,20 (GNB)
This familiar verse caught me attention once again during my Bible time this morning. Then as I connected with people at Restoration Church today, I felt that I was one of several “miracles” in the room. There were those young and old that had faced cancer, survived life threatening accidents, are dealing with disabilities and other issue that are a part of the many challenges of life.
The age-old question seems to be, “why do bad things happen to good people?” The reality is the “rain falls on the just and the unjust”. The crisis of life come to all people in varying degrees, varying ways and at various times. I recall when a pastor friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and died within a few weeks at the prime of life and the height of his impact on the city. His simple perspective in the midst of all the attempts to answer the “why” question was, “sometimes people get sick.”
The reality of scripture is that “good people suffer many troubles…” The issue is not the problems that are faced, but the resources and confidence that you have that enables you to confront those “troubles.” For the righteous the confidence in confronting troubles and difficulties is that troubles and difficulties don’t have the final say.
They don’t have the final say in how we confront the challenges of life. I recall my pastor’s wife in my teen years responding to people when they would say, “I am doing fine under the circumstances” with the retort, “what you are doing there?” Hers words were to communicate the point that our faith and confidence in the Lord allows us to “live above” the circumstances of life and not have our life and attitude dictated by feelings. Consider the following verses…
“Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the Lord.” (Psa. 31:24) “Trust in the Lord, have faith, do not despair. Trust in the Lord.” (Psa. 27:14) “We put our hope in the Lord, He is our protector and our help….” (Psa. 33:20)
Troubles and difficulties don’t determine the final outcome. David’s statement of confidence in the face of troubles is, “…the Lord saves them from them all…” Peter would write to Christians suffering for their faith and encourage them with the words, “….the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 2:9)
Paul writes to the Romans and makes reference to “trouble…hardship…persecution..hunger…poverty…danger…death” He then concludes by saying, “…in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!” (Romans 8:35-37) When we place our lives in the Lord’s hands we can be confident that He is the One who will be with us, work in us, give us the strength to endure and provide for us an eternal home in His presence. So with Paul we can be confident and say, “…thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ…” (2 Corinthians 2:14)