In the Storm

I have not had a chance to write this week as I would normally due to unforeseen events. However, I wanted to declare the goodness of God over this past week in my life. You see, my family is going through a challenging time and it seems attacks are coming from everywhere. Yet, in the midst of the pain, the confusion, the evil, God has remained good to us. How can I say that with a certainty that does not come from me? Because the Spirit of God lives in me and attests to this fact day in and day out. I don’t think I understood what it meant to praise the Lord in my pain but it seems these past two years the Lord has taught me to do just that. Truly, it is a supernatural thing to be confident of the goodness of God in the midst of trial and to ascribe glory to His Holy Name. My post today is a short note to encourage you to look to the One who knows ALL things when the world falls apart or on your shoulders.

If there is one thing we are never encouraged to do is to ascribe evil to the Lord as God is not evil, He does not tempt anyone as James tells us (James 1:13). Our circumstances, as bad as they can get are never because God is evil for God is good and there is no evil in Him. I think of two incidences in the bible where people experienced evil and were quick to attribute it to the hand of God like Naomi (Ruth 1:13; 20), or Jacob when he was angry with his wife Rachel and asked her whether he was in the place of God who brought barrenness to her (Genesis 30:2). However, not even Jesus attributed the evil and suffering he went through to God. Instead he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) in other words, your forsaking me means I am now a prey to the evil one and that was the case. In the same way, even Paul shipwrecked many times, beaten to death, stoned, yet not once did he attribute his suffering to God. He knew it was the enemy but he also knew that all things worked for his good (Romans 8:28). Similarly, Joseph never accredited the suffering he went through to the Lord, instead he said to his brothers “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). My point is, “God is good all the time and all the time God is good”. For some reasons, the parable of the sower has come to mind a lot lately. In this parable, the sower sows good seeds but at night or while everyone is sleeping, the enemy goes into that field and sows weeds. When the wheat (good seed) sprouts, weeds also start to show and the owner’s servant asks the master why that is the case considering that he only sowed good seed. The master’s response is that an enemy has done this and when the servant asks whether he would like the weeds to be pulled out, the master responds in the negative and tells the servant to wait for the harvest because pulling the weeds at that time will not affect the good plant (wheat) and it will be clear then which is what (Matthew 13:24-28). What this parable teaches me is that indeed the enemy comes in to steal, kill and destroy but that is not the plan of God. The enemy’s goal is to ensure the good work of God is tainted, distorted, spoiled so that God’s children will sin by ascribing evil to their heavenly Father and depart from the faith meanwhile God’s intent is that we his children should have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

I do not pretend to understand this life, the suffering that we have to go through, the extent of the effect of sin and every consequence that goes along with it. I do not even pretend to understand the goodness of God and His mighty love because it can get complicated but I choose by His grace to believe in His goodness. I choose to dwell on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, yes I shall dwell on anything that is excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8-9). I refuse to waste my time dwelling on the “what ifs”, dwelling on fear, and other things that do not glorify my heavenly Father. It might be difficult at times but He gives grace to His children. Indeed, He has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness which means, He has equipped us to go through this life and do the good work He has prepared in advance for us. It seems every day I see how God’s ways are not mine. I knew this but every time I am shocked and surprised at such discovery, I wonder why. One way God has equipped us is by giving us His body, the church. It is a wonderful avenue, and more than that it is a family of believers we can lean on. Without the prayers of the saints, having other likeminded believers standing in the gap, I do not think anyone could stand. Even Paul had other believers pray for him and God answered their prayers. Why would I not love the Bride of Christ, the one he died for? The Bride that he will present blameless on the day of judgement? The Bride he is waiting to finally wed? The church is beautiful. I wish many believers would grasp the power behind this mystery. I wish many would come alongside the Lord and fight for the unity in the church, setting aside personal preferences and desires for the common good. A song by Lecrae titled “The Bride” comes to mind and it does a beautiful job at showing who the church is and how fond Jesus is of her and how much we should not be quick to dismiss her but instead wrestle (endure, persevere) with her because she’s God’s. I would encourage you, if you are not part of a local church to join a bible preaching one, a church where the gospel is preached weekly and while you’re there serve the Lord with the body of believers the Lord has given you. As you do that, you will be able to stand in the face of adversity because your brothers and sisters will point you to the One who knows all things, the Lover of your soul. He is faithful. May the good God continue to sustain us as we brace ourselves for more storms.