~ written by Connie Dunmyer
Exodus 21:12-13 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death. However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate."
There are good days. There are bad days. There are good circumstances. There are bad circumstances. We live in a fallen world and sometimes bad things, really bad things happen, even to good people. And a "fatal blow" definitely falls under the category of a “bad day”.
Most of my bad days don’t require something that bad though...
I run out of gas. I stub my toe. I get a bad medical report. I burned the meal. A tornado drops by. I make a mistake in my checking account. I get cussed out by a driver having a worse day than me. The dog vomits on my new carpet. I get fired. I catch the flu.
Today’s “But God” seems a bit different to me than most of the others I’ve studied. But perhaps there’s more here than meets the eye.
I guess the first thing I latch onto is that this is a matter of trusting God. Because God is Sovereign, it was “God all the time”. If God LETS something happen – does it not also follow that this must be a part of His will for my life?
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
God is Sovereign. God is All-Powerful. Man cannot thwart His will. So when God LETS something happen – it must be for His glory and my good.
As humans, it’s hard for us to think of someone dying as “good”. Indeed, I would not use that term.
One reason for this might have something to do our construct of time. With God there is no “time” per se. God is beyond time – God IS the beginning and the end – which has no beginning and has no end. So for God, to LET someone die (or LET anything bad happen) – even as a human accident – I must always be aware that it’s not an accident for Him. God is not caught off guard or surprised, or unable to intervene.
No. Rather this verse implies a “non-intervention intervention”. The other “But God”s I’ve read show God clearly INTERSECTING a need, a goal, His will upon a human situation. THUS this verse shows that sometimes His “allowance” or “not physically intersecting” is actually STILL God’s sovereign will being done. To hold His hand back IS ALSO intersecting my overall need or another person’s need. I just cannot see the beginning from the end. And so to me it may seem “bad” – or that it is “failure”.
BUT GOD knows better. His ways are not my ways. My thoughts are not His thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.”
What’s more, when I ask God for something and it appears that He is not answering my request, it's not that He “does not answer” … but it’s that He is “allowing” these things (even lengthy time) to take place. Ultimately God will receive the glory (even for seemingly senseless acts), and it will be for my good – or someone else’s.
I am not the center of the universe even though I may often act as though I think I am. I am a “part” of The Body, not the whole and not the Head. It’s not always “about me” or even my suffering loved one.
But it IS always about God!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
If I look in my Bible, these are 3 separate verses. But in actuality, it is ONE sentence, meant to be read together. It is all connected.
Rejoice – have joy, happiness, gladness… to celebrate… not only on “good days” but ALWAYS, every day. (Phew, do I ever need to work on that.)
And while I am “celebrating”, I need to stay in prayer. Prayer is not just “asking for stuff” – it’s communing with God… with my heart, my soul, my mind (and I also include my hands… things that I do). So in other words, I can share my joy and celebration with my Father. Even on the rough days. (Maybe those days won’t be so rough if my focus is on celebrating each day with Him.)
So (1) I’m celebrating with God, (2) while I talk and commune with Him. Thus, no matter what I’m going through, (3) I can thank God while I’m in that process.
“The verse doesn’t say we should give thanks FOR everything; it says we should give thanks IN everything. We don’t have to be glad or thankful that tragedies occur. But we can be thankful that, in spite of the tragedy, God is still on the throne, and He is still in control of all circumstances that surround our lives.” ~ Pastor Greg Laurie
Sometimes God's "intervention" is "no intervention". It's still God!
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