I am sure many of us go thru struggles. When going thru struggles in our Christian life we feel dejected and question why am I going thru this ? We want a trouble free life when we are close to God. In this process many times we question if God is with me ? why should I alone get these issues ? Why me ? We compare ourselves with other people to see their life and miss the point that these struggles are meant for us to get better in our spiritual maturity.
Once you are a child of God there is only Good things from God. There is no bad and Good, we tend to categorize good and bad, but for God it’s only Good.
When you read Paul’s writing in Romans, Paul teaches on this subject
'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. ' Romans 8:28
Paul says “in all things” - but we tend to separate this by cherry picking things that suits our wishes alone. Note here Paul says God’s hand is there “in all things”, his works is “God works for the good”, but there are two keys to get all Good things from God
The First Key here to this only for “those who love him”
The second key here is “according to his purpose”
Paul writes these from his experience and we can learn a great deal from his life and we can apply the same in our life as well.
Love of God
'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him’, here he says love for God
The love here is not just for getting favour from God, the love is not only to get what we want.
The love Paul had was true love with a sense of servant attitude that God had died for him and thru him he is saved for eternal life, the love does not change because he is going thru a struggle or when he is happy. It’s like a cement bond done with steel pillar that’s built. Nothing can separate that. He had a reverence love to Jesus.
Paul’s life was marred with so many struggles, still his love never changed towards God. Paul explains his struggles in summary in 2Corinth 11:23-28, many of this detailed version we can read when we read thru Acts. Summary version of his struggles are below 'Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. ' 2 Corinthians 11:23-28
Paul also had moment like us “why me” God moments he explains 'or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ' 2 Corinthians 12:7-8, Paul had some sickness that he pleaded God to take away but response from God was “my grace is sufficient to you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”
Paul boasts in his weakness he says in two instances 'That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. ' 2 Corinthians 12:10 'If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. ' 2 Corinthians 11:30
Paul comes to attitude to boast his weakness only by understanding deep Love of God and his precious sacrifice he has give to us on the Cross, what Paul has gone thru in his life (even though his life is so much of struggles) is nothing that can even compensate for God’s ultimate sacrifice for him.
According to his purpose “will of God”
Paul did everything according to the will of God, he was in Ephesus for 2.5 yrs, he could have stayed there and continued to preach and build a big church and made him known more, he surrendered to will of God.
Paul explains God’s will before he departs to Jerusalem '“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. ' Acts 20:22-24
Paul was so much passionate that his life Goal was to fulfill the will of God, he was not bothered about what troubles that came his way. “my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me”
In this mission he was never proud, he never boasted on the spiritual talents he had. He always humbled himself to make God bigger than what he did or he told. Every action of his was like that. when you read thru Pauls writing its evident across.
Lessons that we should learn
For us to get that kind of Love for God like how Paul had, we need to have the true sense of Gratitude that Jesus died for me and my sins and how precious that death has been, without his death how bad we would face the Wrath of God. This true sense has to come from your heart. It cannot be a feeling warm / fuzzy feeling when we hear a sermon alone, it has to be a fire that resides in us all the time 24x7.
The love for Jesus has to be like a Physical sense in us. It has to be like how blood and flesh are together, when the flesh is cut we experience pain. Love cannot stop due to anything that’s situational to us as our destiny is the eternal place. all things that’s going around us in this world is temporary.
We need to have a love like Paul 'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Romans 8:38-39, no matter what struggles I go thru the love for God can never change.
When we have that kind of love with God, we can say with confidence “that in all things God works for the good”, we are being duped by Satan to believe that the things come against us is bad for us, but the Bible says all things that’s from God is only Good. There is no bad in God’s dictionary.
If there is anything bad that’s comes in you that means it’s a warning that it’s not according to the will of God
A bad thing that may have happened to you may be a start for a good thing that Lord has planned in your life.
Remember when we are God’s children he wants Good and “The best” for us.
We are humans, we feel weak and get tired of the struggles, in this situations emulate Paul’s attitude to boast your weakness so that thru Christ’s power you will overcome your weakness.
Remember in your weakness say out loud “If God is for us, who can be against us?” 'Romans 8:31
We are conquerors when God is with us 'No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ' Romans 8:37, we are being duped by Satan to believe we are losers but in actual terms we are conquerors thru God
Always Surrender to the will of God
Surrendering to the will of God can come only if we pray and seek what his plans are. not by our own desires, Pray more for his will and tell him to direct you according to his plans than what you may have in mind.
David tells this beautifully 'Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. 'Psalms 37:4 'May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. ' Psalms 20:4
When we pray and yield to God’s will, he will give what he plans as desires to your heart and remove the human desires that may not be according to his will. He will constantly talk to you with the word to tell if you are walking according to his will and what you do is correct or not.
This can happen only if you are in constant touch by praying and seeking earnestly all your plans to him and say I surrender.
Always remember what all struggles we are going thru are no match to what Paul has experienced and if he says from his experience we better copy and emulate to live successful like him in God’s eyes
We are always made to believe that struggles are bad for us but its for our good. Remember “ All Good things comes from God”
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