Thursday 8 September 2016

Today Reminder – 8 September 2016



A reminder for today
I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. (Psalm 120:1)

I believe that all happens with a purpose. Even though God gave us the gift of choice and choice surely plays a huge roll in our lives I still believe all happens with a purpose. I have seen so many times how God will take what was intended to destroy us and change it so that it grows us in our faith. God can turn any event around and make it work for His purpose. In the end God knows what we are going to choose and what we are going to do. He is today, tomorrow and forever.
So with this knowledge that God knows before we know what will happen, why does He allow bad things to happen. 

That “why” question goes back thousands of years. It was asked in the Old Testament by Job and the writers of the Psalms, and it was especially relevant during the 20th century, where we witnessed two World Wars, the Holocaust, genocides in the Soviet Union and China, devastating famines in Africa, the killing fields of Cambodia, the emergence of AIDS, the genocide in Rwanda and the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo. And the 21st Century didn’t start any better. There was 9/11 and now the Syrian slaughters, and on and on. Why all of this if there’s a loving and powerful God? Why do bad things happen to good people?

I cannot stand in the shoes of God and give a complete answer to that question. I don’t have God’s mind. I don’t see with God’s eyes. First Corinthians 13:12 says, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

So when you ask about specific individual events and want to know why this particular thing happened, we won’t get the full answer in this world. Someday we’ll see with clarity, but for now things are foggy. We can’t understand everything from our finite perspective.

And the same is true in understanding why there is tragedy and suffering in our lives and in our world. We may not be able to make out all the peripheral details of why — they may be obscured from our view — but there are some key Biblical truths that can illuminate some points of light for us. And if we follow those lights, they will lead us in the right direction, toward some conclusions that I believe can help satisfy our hearts and souls.

The first point of light: God is not the creator of evil and suffering.

The second point of light is this: Though suffering isn’t good, God can use it to accomplish good.

The third point of light: The day is coming when suffering will cease and God will judge evil.

Point of Light #4: Our suffering will pale in comparison to what God has in store for his followers.

Point of Light #5: We decide whether to turn bitter or turn to God for peace and courage.

So today I take my troubles to God and He answers my prayer. I do not know why bad things happen, but I surely know God can turn any event into good and He can use any event to turn people back to Him. Sometimes we will go through many hardships to prepare us for what lies ahead and sometimes we might feel that we cannot go on anymore. This is when God moves in our lives and this is the time that we need to remain faithful and keep our focus on Him. Many will question God to mislead us, but we should not alter our journey. Stay focused, because this life is only temporary.

Lord, make us strong so that we can face all the challenges that awaits us and hear our prayers. In Jesus name.

Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus. 

Cheers

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