I wanted to share with you something the Lord reminded me about during my study time today. I was studying in 1 Samuel 21 and continuing about David and all the troubles and trials he went through.
We know that the Lord has plans for our future - both our future here in this world as well as for our eternal future. God doesn't decide, "this person's going to do this, and that person's going to do that". He chooses our futures based on the talents and desires He gives us and then He prepares us for that future. Nothing happens in our lives that is an "accident". God knows in advance what's going to happen, what choices people are going to make, both good and bad that will affect us. So He uses those things to prepare us for the wonderful future He has planned for us. This includes everything that happens to us even before we're saved, for God knows who belongs to Him and doesn't waste time waiting on us to finally make our decision. (Thank You Lord!)
We can be absolutely sure then that no matter what is happening to us, that the Lord is using it to prepare us for that wonderful future. That's partly what His Word is talking about when it says that all things will work together for our good. We can also know that everything is also being used to help us become more and more like Christ.
Then why aren't people more like Christ as they get older and go through more in their lives? Simply because most people don't realize this and they fight against it. Obviously, the unsaved don't know about it and they're not going to actively try to cooperate with what God is using the situation for. Instead they'll fight against it. Of course God know this too and will use that as well. If they are one of His children, they'll eventually be saved and will begin to grow more like Christ. They'll also develop their talents and gain desires that will lead them in the direction the Lord has planned for them.
What is amazing to me is that even though most of us fight God and refuse to cooperate with Him, even so, His Will is done and we will still eventually develop those talents, desires and characteristics needed for the future the Lord's planned for us. I imagine it takes a lot longer then it would if we had cooperated with Him, but either way, it happens.
One of the biggest things He has to teach us is of course to trust Him. That's a lesson He works with us on all our lives, over and over again in many different ways and situations, to grow our faith and trust.
What does this have to do with trials and problems in our lives? Well one of the things we tend to do constantly is to trust other people instead of God or at least in addition to God. So He is constantly having to show us and remind us that other people are going to constantly let us down, or even purposely mislead us -even those we love and those who love us. They can't help it any more then we can help letting other people down sometimes. It's all that nasty sin nature which makes it "normal" for us to do that. It's only because of God's Grace and help that we who are saved can overcome that ourselves.
Often when our problems or trials are being caused because other people have hurt us somehow, it's because the Lord is teaching us or reminding us that we can only trust Him, not ourselves and not other people. Think about it. When something "bad" happens, what's our first reaction usually? Is it to immediately go to prayer and ask the Lord how to handle it and what to do? Or is to to "figure things out for ourselves" or to ask a friend or a "professional" for advice? I have to admit that for me it's often to figure it out myself or ask someone else for advice.
But, I'm getting better! It's only taken the Lord 57 years to get me to come to Him first sometimes. My prayer is that before I turn 58, it will be ALL the time!
Hezekiah is a wonderful example of this! The story is in 2 Kings 18 and 19 for those who'd like to read it. Hezekiah was only 29 when this trial I'm speaking of began - the King of Assyria attacked them and was very good at psychological warfare. He knew all the right things to say to cause the people and King Hezekiah to doubt God, but Hezekiah held firm to his faith. He even had one of his commanders stand up after they had Judah under siege and announce to them that God wouldn't save them and that God had even told them to come and capture them!
He sent Hezekiah a letter basically telling him the same thing and telling him what awful things would happen to him and the people if they didn't surrender right away.
What did Hezekiah do? At 29 years old, he was more spiritually mature then I am at 57! He didn't hesitate even for a second. After reading the letter, he immediately went to the Temple and spread the letter out before the Lord and prayed to Him about it, asking Him to deliver them and what he should do! Can you believe it???? What a fantastic role model for us! (In answer, the Lord sent Isaiah to him to tell him what would happen and how He would deliver them) I've got to share with you how the Lord did it too, check this out: 2 Kings 19:35 —That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! * The Lord rewarded Hezekiah for his faith and for coming to Him instead of trying to figure things out for himself or getting advice from others first.
Hezekiah didn't react to any of the verbal threats or to the letter. If you read the story, He even told the people not to react to them, to literally "say nothing" when they were taunted. He went to the Lord for directions and help and received them. The Lord absolutely loves it when we ask Him for help and He loves it even more when we trust Him to deliver us and to use the situation for our good. When we cooperate with Him, then we can move toward that wonderful future He has for us much more quickly, as we become the people He created us to be.
It's difficult for us because we tend to live by sight rather then by faith, so when we see and hear someone or many people lying about us or a loved one, or saying things that hurt us in some way, or cheating us, or whatever the situation is, we forget all about the Lord and just strike back. We "stand up for our rights", not realizing that often in the process we're negating all that the Lord is trying to teach us and show us. Forgetting that He told us to "love them" unconditionally, and sacrificially; forgetting that He tells us to put their needs before our own. Or, perhaps I should say "I do things like that" and not "we". Like I said though, little by little I'm learning and I really am getting better. While it's often still my first instinct to react in those ways, I'm now often able to prevent myself from going beyond the first thought and turn and do things God's way instead. Someday I hope to be able to always react to people who I feel are hurting me or attacking me somehow, the way He wants me to. I know from His Word that's one of the things He tries to develop in each of us so that we will become more like Jesus and be ready to fulfill the role He has for our future.
Jeremiah 29:11–13 —For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. *Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. *You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. *
We know that the Lord has plans for our future - both our future here in this world as well as for our eternal future. God doesn't decide, "this person's going to do this, and that person's going to do that". He chooses our futures based on the talents and desires He gives us and then He prepares us for that future. Nothing happens in our lives that is an "accident". God knows in advance what's going to happen, what choices people are going to make, both good and bad that will affect us. So He uses those things to prepare us for the wonderful future He has planned for us. This includes everything that happens to us even before we're saved, for God knows who belongs to Him and doesn't waste time waiting on us to finally make our decision. (Thank You Lord!)
We can be absolutely sure then that no matter what is happening to us, that the Lord is using it to prepare us for that wonderful future. That's partly what His Word is talking about when it says that all things will work together for our good. We can also know that everything is also being used to help us become more and more like Christ.
Then why aren't people more like Christ as they get older and go through more in their lives? Simply because most people don't realize this and they fight against it. Obviously, the unsaved don't know about it and they're not going to actively try to cooperate with what God is using the situation for. Instead they'll fight against it. Of course God know this too and will use that as well. If they are one of His children, they'll eventually be saved and will begin to grow more like Christ. They'll also develop their talents and gain desires that will lead them in the direction the Lord has planned for them.
What is amazing to me is that even though most of us fight God and refuse to cooperate with Him, even so, His Will is done and we will still eventually develop those talents, desires and characteristics needed for the future the Lord's planned for us. I imagine it takes a lot longer then it would if we had cooperated with Him, but either way, it happens.
One of the biggest things He has to teach us is of course to trust Him. That's a lesson He works with us on all our lives, over and over again in many different ways and situations, to grow our faith and trust.
What does this have to do with trials and problems in our lives? Well one of the things we tend to do constantly is to trust other people instead of God or at least in addition to God. So He is constantly having to show us and remind us that other people are going to constantly let us down, or even purposely mislead us -even those we love and those who love us. They can't help it any more then we can help letting other people down sometimes. It's all that nasty sin nature which makes it "normal" for us to do that. It's only because of God's Grace and help that we who are saved can overcome that ourselves.
Often when our problems or trials are being caused because other people have hurt us somehow, it's because the Lord is teaching us or reminding us that we can only trust Him, not ourselves and not other people. Think about it. When something "bad" happens, what's our first reaction usually? Is it to immediately go to prayer and ask the Lord how to handle it and what to do? Or is to to "figure things out for ourselves" or to ask a friend or a "professional" for advice? I have to admit that for me it's often to figure it out myself or ask someone else for advice.
But, I'm getting better! It's only taken the Lord 57 years to get me to come to Him first sometimes.
My prayer is that before I turn 58, it will be ALL the time! Hezekiah is a wonderful example of this! The story is in 2 Kings 18 and 19 for those who'd like to read it. Hezekiah was only 29 when this trial I'm speaking of began - the King of Assyria attacked them and was very good at psychological warfare. He knew all the right things to say to cause the people and King Hezekiah to doubt God, but Hezekiah held firm to his faith. He even had one of his commanders stand up after they had Judah under siege and announce to them that God wouldn't save them and that God had even told them to come and capture them!
He sent Hezekiah a letter basically telling him the same thing and telling him what awful things would happen to him and the people if they didn't surrender right away. What did Hezekiah do? At 29 years old, he was more spiritually mature then I am at 57! He didn't hesitate even for a second. After reading the letter, he immediately went to the Temple and spread the letter out before the Lord and prayed to Him about it, asking Him to deliver them and what he should do! Can you believe it???? What a fantastic role model for us! (In answer, the Lord sent Isaiah to him to tell him what would happen and how He would deliver them) I've got to share with you how the Lord did it too, check this out: 2 Kings 19:35 —That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! * The Lord rewarded Hezekiah for his faith and for coming to Him instead of trying to figure things out for himself or getting advice from others first.
Hezekiah didn't react to any of the verbal threats or to the letter. If you read the story, He even told the people not to react to them, to literally "say nothing" when they were taunted. He went to the Lord for directions and help and received them. The Lord absolutely loves it when we ask Him for help and He loves it even more when we trust Him to deliver us and to use the situation for our good. When we cooperate with Him, then we can move toward that wonderful future He has for us much more quickly, as we become the people He created us to be.
It's difficult for us because we tend to live by sight rather then by faith, so when we see and hear someone or many people lying about us or a loved one, or saying things that hurt us in some way, or cheating us, or whatever the situation is, we forget all about the Lord and just strike back. We "stand up for our rights", not realizing that often in the process we're negating all that the Lord is trying to teach us and show us. Forgetting that He told us to "love them" unconditionally, and sacrificially; forgetting that He tells us to put their needs before our own. Or, perhaps I should say "I do things like that" and not "we". Like I said though, little by little I'm learning and I really am getting better. While it's often still my first instinct to react in those ways, I'm now often able to prevent myself from going beyond the first thought and turn and do things God's way instead. Someday I hope to be able to always react to people who I feel are hurting me or attacking me somehow, the way He wants me to. I know from His Word that's one of the things He tries to develop in each of us so that we will become more like Jesus and be ready to fulfill the role He has for our future.
Jeremiah 29:11–13 —For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. *Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. *You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. *
