Today’s Biblical principle is a hard one to accept. But, it is essential for us to learn it.
Learning to Think Biblically:
PRINCIPLE #4: We need to stop this fantasy that God always pleases us! i.e. …that He never allows anything to happen to us that won’t bring us pleasure. Tell that to Job!
* Our thinking is so distorted, that if I suggest that God is actually pleased with our suffering, it sounds like I’m talking about some strange, perverse, foreign God… not the loving God that we like to think about.
* So, let me ask you: Was the God of the Bible PLEASED with Job’s suffering? God was so pleased that He called heaven and earth to witness – to watch Job suffer so that God could brag on him. God said, “Look at my servant Job. Here’s a man who will serve me no matter what!”
* But, here’s another question: Was Job pleased with God? No, but he served Him anyway. Was God pleased with Job? Yes, but He caused him to suffer anyway.
* Can we understand a God like that? No! Paul said, “How unsearchable are His judgments and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). God told Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways… For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
* Most people in the world would say, “I don’t want anything to do with a God like that. And, that’s right – they don’t! But, I do! Because, by faith, I can know that “our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
* The sad fact is, most people would rather have an impotent God who is powerless to prevent suffering, than a powerful God who chooses suffering for His children as a means of conforming them to the image of Christ.
Thought it might be helpful to provide some affirmation to those here who are feeling unappreciated lately. I also use this as my Zoom background. Anyhow, here it is, with love
– “This trap is so much fun! Put it in the lake and 15 minutes later it was FULL!!! Love it!! So easy to use and collapsible so it fits right in the bucket and I can leave it in the truck so I can take it any where.” – Mark H.
If they cancel the rest of the school year, students would miss 2.5 months of education. Many people are concerned about students falling behind because of this. Yes, they may fall behind when it comes to classroom education…
But what if…
What if instead of falling “behind”, this group of kids are ADVANCED because of this? Hear me out…
What if they have more empathy, they enjoy family connection, they can be more creative and entertain themselves, they love to read, they love to express themselves in writing. ❤️
What if they enjoy the simple things, like their own backyard and sitting near a window in the quiet. ❤️
What if they notice the birds and the dates the different flowers emerge, and the calming renewal of a gentle rain shower? ❤️
What if this generation are the ones to learn to cook, organize their space, do their laundry, and keep a well run home? ❤️
What if they learn to stretch a dollar and to live with less? ❤️
What if they learn to plan shopping trips and meals at home. ❤️
What if they learn the value of eating together as a family and finding the good to share in the small delights of the everyday? ❤️
What if they are the ones to place great value on our teachers and educational professionals, librarians, public servants and the previously invisible essential support workers like truck drivers, grocers, cashiers, custodians, logistics, and health care workers and their supporting staff, just to name a few of the millions taking care of us right now while we are sheltered in place? ❤️
What if among these children, a great leader emerges who had the benefit of a slower pace and a simpler life to truly learn what really matters in this life?❤️
Momentary Lapse Of Sanity 