Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Do you really believe God works for good in all things?
Being able to make that statement begins with acknowledging that God knows what He is doing. He is not only all-powerful, or sovereign, but also all-knowing. Even when pain and tragedy strike, we can trust God to know what is best for our good.
The problem is we don't know His plan. We would like to know the reason for our trials, but God doesn't always reveal it to us. We wonder how He could possibly cause this or that problem to work for good.
But through Scripture and the natural order, God gives us a hint that it can happen, even when we can't see how. Jesus said:
I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit (John 15:1,2).
During the last several years, our own family has endured several such prunings. Barbara has weathered major heart surgery, the removal of a benign lump in her breast, five debilitating sinus infections, sinus surgery and Lyme's disease. And I have previously told of our son Samuel's bout with muscular dystrophy.
I don't know about you, but sometimes I grow a little weary from so many snips from pruning shears in my life.
But I really love the fruit bearing. While I wish it could happen without the pruning, life just doesn't work that way. Our family has experienced growth from the pruning. It has enriched my ministry to other families who hurt.
Scientists don't fully understand the pruning/fruit-bearing connection in the plant world. Why should I insist on understanding it in human lives? It's more important to bear fruit than to understand the pruning process.
Prayer: For the faith to believe that God can enable you to become "more than conquerors" over any hardship or tragedy in your life.
Discuss: How has God pruned you in the past in order to make you bear more fruit?
4 comments:
i have to admit this is a very tough concept. to say "God has a plan" in the midst of a tragedy or difficult circumstance is really hard. i often ask how much is God driven and how much does God let happen. meaning, maybe GOd weeps too when the bad happens. and maybe he didnt want it that way either but when man fell (adam), things changed??? just a thought. have no idea if this is accurate. but this concept really is thought provoking and difficult to process. when i read this author's issues, and how he can see the light, that is pretty cool.
In many, many ways, God pruned us last year with me stuck in Illinois. Even to me, in retrospect, it seems superficial, but it tore our family up being literally separated for 8 months. Yes we were all physically okay, but mentally, it was massive fruit pruning. And we're ridiculously closer now, and my family will always come first.
I will always accerpt some fruit pruning from here on out...
i agree with you trm, how cool to see that kind of attitude in those circumstances. crb, i know you mean first after God of course. i have defintely had some prunnings over the years as well. i just pray that i can have an open mind to see God's hand in shaping the outcome.
cas
This one comes pretty close to home. I hear and see a lot of people attributing the negative things in life to "the devil" because God is only about the good aspects.
In the end, we have to pray and completely give ourselves to God because only He knows what issues we will encounter both good and bad. I pray that I can relinquish control and allow Him to guide me especially through the difficult times.
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