If God Be for Us… And He Is! Part One
Romans 8: 31
Jesus is someone with whom everyone can relate.
Descriptively the prophet Isaiah spoke of Him: “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Isaiah 53:3).
Yet, He was so winsome that little children flocked to Him.
He was so joyous His detractors accused Him of being drunk.
He was so optimistic and insightful that masses gathered to hear Him speak.
In your highs and in your lows Jesus is able to deal with the diverse issues of your life. There are those who are personally celebrating the fact life is good and their cup is running over. Conversely there are those who feel like even though they have asked God to fill their cup, instead someone has come along and eaten their lunch. In between are the masses alternating between these two moods. Regardless of where you are presently on the scale you have been at virtually every other point and likely will continue to slide up and down the scale. Therefore it is expedient to store up spiritual resources to equip you for every phase of life.
Life inflicts about the same setbacks and tragedies on Christians and non-believers, optimists as on pessimists. No one has more reason for optimism than a Christian. We have reason to bounce back from setbacks as a result of two things. One is a resource of biblical principles which when applied give reason for optimism. The other is lessons learned from our practical experiences. The text noted above comes out of the experiences of the penman.
Recently my wife and I went fishing for silver salmon on the Kenai River in Alaska. It is a scenic setting. One bank was the home of fishing bears, the other was roamed by caribou. Seals bobbed up and down in the water looking for lunch. Boats were anchored all along the way as people awaited a big catch. There is a sonar device in the river that counts the thousands of fish going up-stream. Suddenly I saw something amazing. It was a fish going downstream. Then I realized this one was dead. The obvious lesson is that any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to fight its way up-stream.
Persons alive in Jesus often go upstream against the current of popular opinion, but they are going the right direction.
The Christian life is more than a frolic; it’s a fight. It is not a playground; it is a battleground.
Reassuringly God’s Word encourages us with great truths such as: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
If you are a person of faith the text noted above assures you God is very busy in all things to bring the good from them. Relax in His grace and unconditional love.