Not everything in life is from God! – Tuesday, 17 October
“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV
In the midst of cancer, pain and tragedy we can thank God that He is good, that He didn’t cause the problem, or allow it. We can thank Him that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and that we have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, living in us and that Spirit is causing life in our mortal bodies (Romans 8:11). We can thank Him that He’s faithful, that He looks after us and provides for and cares for us, whether we manage to receive our healing or not. We can thank Him that even in the worst of situations we have a hope that not even death can take away. We always have a reason to rejoice and be thankful, no matter what the circumstances!
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 KJV
People misquote this scripture all the time. Firstly, this does not say that God causes all things, but rather that He “works all things together”. God is not the origin of everything going on in our lives.
People quote this verse saying “all things work together for good” which is incomplete. Or they’ll say that “God works all things together for our good” as if He is the one causing all things. All things do not always work out for everyone. How did God work someone’s death by suicide or murder out for good? Some good things might have come out of the situation, but ultimately it’s a tragedy. We comfort ourselves with ideas like this from this misquoted scripture to give ourselves some kind of false hope. But it has no anchor in it, and so it won’t hold for long.
This scripture is a promise for “those who love God” and not everyone loves God. This promise is in the context of making intercession (prayer for others) and so if we are not letting the Holy Spirit help us with intercession, then all things do not work together for good.
There is nothing good about sickness. Yes, you can learn a lot through suffering – but there is no need to. You can learn through the Word. God doesn’t need to use sickness to teach you anything.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
The Scripture is given so that we can learn all we need to. The Scripture’s purpose is to teach us, correct us and train us. It helps us become complete and equipped. You can learn from difficult situations and through suffering, but you do not have to. All you need to learn is in the Word.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7 ESV
Sickness is never from God and should therefore always be resisted. We resist it in any we can – through faith or with the help of the medical profession, but ultimately we resist it by trusting in God. We should not be passive and tolerate sickness and suffering in our lives.
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