My cousin got into a car accident two days ago. He is fine but his car is not...and for a guy who just graduated from high school and invested a good chunk of his hard earned money into that vehicle...it's not just a "bummer"...it's heartwrenching! My heart ached for him and was full of prayers that God would be seen as great in the midst of the heartache and that He would be glorified in the pain.
I read a quote by R.C Sproul that reminded me not only of my cousin's situation but of so many other situations that the Lord has taken others through and my own family through:
"God, in his providence, has the power and the will to work all things together for good for his people. This does not mean that everything that happens to us is, in itself, good. Really bad things do happen to us. But they are only proximately bad; they are never ultimately bad. That is, they are bad only in the short (proximate) term, never in the long term. Because of the triumph of God's goodness in all things, he is able to bring good for us out of the bad. He turns our tragedies into supreme blessings."
That quote was also in the forefront of my thoughts and meditations when I read a very familiar account in John 11. You know the one...Lazarus was sick...he was dying...and this is what John 11:5-6:
"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was."
Ouch! The One who could heal, the One who could make well with just a few words from His mouth, the One who could take away hurt and pain and bring laughter and joy in it's place, the One who could turn mourning into dancing...seemingly did nothing. In fact, He stayed right where He was. He allowed pain and death, sorrow and tears to fill the lives of those He loved so dearly. It didn't make sense. It hurt so much...Martha and Mary knew that Jesus could have saved Lazarus...but He didn't...and the pain was intense.
That was the proximate. That was what earthly eyes saw and felt but that was not the end of the story. It was only the opening chapter. God's goodness triumphs in all things...even the painful things. Lazarus died, in the words of Jesus, "for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified by it"(vs 4). Lazarus died so that that he could be risen from the dead...so the watching world could see that there is NOTHING out of God's control, nothing in which He does not claim the victory...not even death!
My cousin Matt saw God's supreme blessing today out of the midst of pain...he saw God provide in ways that were beyond what we ever could have prayed for. He saw the greatness of God in a way he might not have otherwise...and so did we! And, in that, God is glorfied and He is made much of!
Love you, Matt!
I read a quote by R.C Sproul that reminded me not only of my cousin's situation but of so many other situations that the Lord has taken others through and my own family through:
"God, in his providence, has the power and the will to work all things together for good for his people. This does not mean that everything that happens to us is, in itself, good. Really bad things do happen to us. But they are only proximately bad; they are never ultimately bad. That is, they are bad only in the short (proximate) term, never in the long term. Because of the triumph of God's goodness in all things, he is able to bring good for us out of the bad. He turns our tragedies into supreme blessings."
That quote was also in the forefront of my thoughts and meditations when I read a very familiar account in John 11. You know the one...Lazarus was sick...he was dying...and this is what John 11:5-6:
"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was."
Ouch! The One who could heal, the One who could make well with just a few words from His mouth, the One who could take away hurt and pain and bring laughter and joy in it's place, the One who could turn mourning into dancing...seemingly did nothing. In fact, He stayed right where He was. He allowed pain and death, sorrow and tears to fill the lives of those He loved so dearly. It didn't make sense. It hurt so much...Martha and Mary knew that Jesus could have saved Lazarus...but He didn't...and the pain was intense.
That was the proximate. That was what earthly eyes saw and felt but that was not the end of the story. It was only the opening chapter. God's goodness triumphs in all things...even the painful things. Lazarus died, in the words of Jesus, "for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified by it"(vs 4). Lazarus died so that that he could be risen from the dead...so the watching world could see that there is NOTHING out of God's control, nothing in which He does not claim the victory...not even death!
My cousin Matt saw God's supreme blessing today out of the midst of pain...he saw God provide in ways that were beyond what we ever could have prayed for. He saw the greatness of God in a way he might not have otherwise...and so did we! And, in that, God is glorfied and He is made much of!
Love you, Matt!
Comments
Thank you for sharing this example of God's faithfulness to His people and His passion for His glory.
I love the example about Lazarus, that is a reminder that will stay with me for a while. It's a new nugget I can preach to myself.
Thanks
You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word, Psalm 119:65(ESV) and you have been ever mindful of your covenant, the word that you commanded, for a thousand generations. Psalm 105:8(ESV)
Not one word has failed of all your good promise, 1 Kings 8:56(ESV) which you have promised to David your servant and to Israel your people. 1 Kings 8:66(ESV)
And now, what shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? Psalm 116:12(ESV) Let my soul return to him and repose in him as its rest, for he has dealt bountifully with me: Psalm 116:7(ESV) I will lift up the cup of my salvation and call upon the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:13(ESV) For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:5(ESV)
I will bless the LORD at all times; yes, his praise shall continually be in my mouth; Psalm 34:1(ESV) I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; Psalm 104:33(ESV) and I hope to be shortly with those blessed ones who dwell in his house above and are still praising him and who day and night never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.” Revelation 4:8(ESV)
(Mathew Henry's Method of Prayer)
It related well to your post so I thought i would add one more thing.