ALL THINGS TOGETHER

Recently, a sister who is suffering said that she often asks: "why  would God want me to spend all day just trying to care for my own body". I believe every one of us has asked a similar question. I know I have.

I've asked God why I've been sick for so many years--why have I been unable to go out of my house? Several years ago, after a fire struck, burning down my apartment and taking the lives of my mother and my little kitten, I asked "why"? Why did it happen? Why did I get burned? Why did the hospital that did NOT take care of me (so much so that the fire rescue person ordered a copter to air-lift me to another hospital) would be suing ME for not paying for services they never actually gave. Why? Why? Why? The thing is that through the years, whenever I ask "why" I always come back to the same verse:

Romans 8:28 (NASB) "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."

I was once taught that the key word here is "TOGETHER".

For instance,  when you make bread, you put in flour, water, eggs, yeast, salt, sugar (whatever). None of these ingredients ALONE make bread or even faintly resemble bread. Yet, when you put them TOGETHER they do. But, not until you mix them together, put them in the oven, TURN THE HEAT ON, and bake them. The result is a loaf of bread that smells heavenly and tastes that way too. It is also very nourishing and, interestingly, God chose Bread to represent His Son, the Bread of Heaven.

God will take the ingredients of your life, mix them together, heat them up and let them bake, and present YOU as a "loaf of bread" that smells and tastes heavenly, that nourishes others, and that represents His Son to the world.

All the things that happen to us (both good and bad), the conditions we live in, the things we suffer ALONE can be mystifying. But, though we may not understand them, we have God's assurance that, because we love Him and we're called according to His purpose, He will cause them ALL to work TOGETHER for our good.

I think that has gotten me through the last 20 years of my life. I've even lived long enough to SEE how some of the things I couldn't understand at the time are working for my good, my family's good, and the good of the kingdom. It's been amazing to see what seemed like disaster at the time turn out to be a stepping stone to God's blessing.

If you have given your heart and your life to God by accepting His Son, Jesus, then you have the promise that EVERYTHING that happens in your life, no matter how bewildering it may seem, will work to your good.

Take that promise and make it your own---believe it and stand on it every day  and it will make your life a lot easier.