My
sister-in-law was recently at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for
post-surgery tests and scans. She has been complaining that her lower back was
hurting her. The family was discomforted by that news and began to pray. She
had a battery of surgeries previously, and though she was released from the
hospital, the medical team was not confident that she was out of the woods. She
would be on a regiment of returning to MDA periodically to undergo testing to
monitor her medical situation.
She
had a rare and aggressive form of cancer that was discovered during a
lengthy exploratory surgery. They discovered a mass the size of a football on
her spine, spreading its tentacles around vital organs and an artery like some
squid-like creature. Amazingly, the malignant growth had not attached itself to
her, but you get the impression that it was positioning itself for the kill. We
thanked God for preventing this thing from attaching itself to her,
particularly the artery! I told her that it was not her time; God had something
specifically for her yet to do, and that she needed to find out what that is.
Though
the surgeries were successful, the team of doctors was cautiously optimistic
but the concern remained about the possibility of this bizarre type of cancer
returning with a vengeance. I know it must sound strange to characterize this
creepy cancer as a monster, but I overheard my sister-in-law refer to it as “the
monster inside of me.” I had this sick-in-the-gut feeling.
You
would be hard-pressed to find a sweeter, gentler woman who loves the LORD than
she. Her house remains in order, and she is ready for heaven if God so desires
to take her home, but she also intends to fight this malignant thing.
It reminded me of
what my father once told me, “You are not down until you quit getting up.” Php
4:13 comes to mind, doesn’t it! It is not in our strength but His (cf. Jn 15:5)
that enables us to meet the challenges that come our way. God has a way of
enabling us to move forward for His glory with incredible resiliency from
pain and suffering.
It
is so easy to quote Rom 8:28, like throwing seeds indiscriminately, to people who are in a world
of hurt, but that wonderful truth is not always well received in the crucible
due to the struggling with the why of it all in rough and tough situations. But
Scripture truth supports the idea that God is sovereign and sufficient for all
things. He is ultimately in control of any given situation as Rom 8:28
declares.
It
is easy to embrace Rom 8:28 in the good times, but I think it is wise to come to grips with it in the bad times as well before another crisis hits.
The mother of all crises may come our way. It is one of the reasons we can
respond properly to commands like 1 Thes 5:18a,
In everything give thanks.
Thanklessness is the mindset of unbelievers who are not interested in the will of God.
There
needs to be a sense of urgency in coming to grips with the truth of Rom 8:28 in
all aspects of life and not wait until the next crisis happens. Our life is
replete with storms. It takes an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise God who
loves us without measure to pull this verse off with the unrelenting frequency
of 24/7/365. Nothing enters our life without His approval, absolutely,
unequivocally nothing, and that does not suggest in the least He is hands-off
like the deists maintain. His love for us (Rom 8:35-39) and the promise of His presence (Heb 13:5) would
argue that is not the case at all.
There
is a Divine purpose for everything concerning our lives whether in smooth
sailing or adverse weather. It does seem that we find ourselves either heading toward a storm, in the throes of a storm, or leaving out of a storm. Indeed, we can
have smooth sailing within the heart when outside a storm is brewing or raging
(cf. Isa 26:3; Col 3:15).
I
have never understood why some believers are offended by the Word as if it was
inappropriate at times? I think most of the time it has something to do with a
strain of self-righteousness, spiritual ignorance from not being in the Word, or
the aforementioned, struggling with the why of it all. If we rely on the Holy
Spirit on when to speak or share that wonderful truth like Rom 8:28, timing and
tone will not be a problem, generally speaking.
(Pro
15:23) A
man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season,
how good it is!
(Pro
25:11) A
word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
(Isa
50:4) The
Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to
speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by
morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned.
But
do consider this; Jesus said and did everything right, and yet, people were
still offended by Him.
Many
believers claim to be under the Word, but their fruitless lives reveal that they are not in the Word. When a crisis hits the fan, they are
unprepared spiritually because there is little in the heart tank for the Holy
Spirit to give guidance and comfort. I have known of some who were even offended
by this truth below,
Great
peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble (Psa 119:165).
They
stiffen their neck, thinking, “Are you suggesting I do not love God’s Word
because peace eludes me?” Believers reveal foolishness by how
they handle encouragement or rebuke; often both are interpreted as being mean-spirited as if we were kicking them while they were down! But the truth of the matter is
that when you encourage or rebuke a wise man, he will love you for it. Why is that?
Because
a wise man or woman does not want to be unwise in life. For the unwise,
however, if you encourage or rebuke a fool, he will hate you for it because a fool will not
receive instructions, having no fear of God. They muddle everything up in their
ignorance and arrogance. They interpret your goodwill and caring as meddling
and simply being zealously self-righteous or mean-spirited.
(Prov
9:8) Do
not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will
love you.
(Prov
9:9) Give instruction
to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and
he will increase in learning.
(Prov
9:10) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and
the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
(Prov
9:11) For
by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you.
When
Paul wrote Romans 8:28,
And
we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called according to His [ultimate, added] purpose (Rom 8:28),
he
didn’t say all things are good because we know there is a huge bandwidth of bad
in the world. But he did say that all things work together for good. Though evil dominates
the world, all things, good or bad, God makes all work together for good; this is an indication
of control. God and only God can make this happen in our lives (cf. Psa 51:10, create [Heb., bara] the same verb in Gn 1:1). Recall God’s creative efforts after six solar days,
Then God saw
everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening
and the morning were the sixth day (Gn 1:31).
Then
one day in the Garden, sin entered the world through one man and death through
sin. Mankind and the universe have been reeling ever since that single
prohibition was violated (cf. Gn 2:16-17; Rom 5:12; 8:22). This obviously
sounds ridiculous to those without Christ, but the Holy Spirit through Moses
reported it to be so (cf. Gn 3:17-18).
Adam willfully sinning in knowledge (cf. 1 Tim 2:14) invited the very dire consequences that
God warned him about (Gn 2:16-17). When will we ever learn that we are free to
choose but not free of the consequences of our choices? We can be forgiven and
restored to fellowship, yes (1 Jn 1:9), but we set in motion the consequences
of sinning in knowledge that may haunt us for life as it did for Adam and Eve. <><
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| To Part 2 |
