Focal Passages: Genesis 41:28-36, 46-49
Christians believe in a sovereign God who never says “oops.” Nothing ever takes Him by surprise. We have a God who is omniscient. The Illustrated Oxford Dictionary defines “omniscience” as “knowing everything,” and the Bible certainly ascribes omniscience to God. God knows every past, present and future action. He knows every human thought and need. That means that when we are faced with hard times, He knew that before we got there. Moreover, the good news is that He is there ahead of us. Over my many years as a Christian (52 years) and as a minister of the gospel (34 years), I have learned and held on to two major truths when facing the hard times in life. First, I have learned that nothing touches me that has not passed through the hands of my heavenly Father. Nothing.
Jesus said in John 10:28-30 (HCSB) – “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish – ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”
Anything that comes my way first goes through the hand of the Father, and then through the hand of Jesus. We must remember that no matter what occurs in our life, God has surveyed and approved it to happen.
Second, I have learned that everything I endure in this life is designed by the Father to prepare me for loving Him supremely and for serving others effectively.
We like to quote Romans 8:28, holding on to the promise that all things work together for our good. However, we need to go to the next verse and understand what that ultimate good is. Romans 8:29 (HCSB) – “For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Hard times may not seem logical, dare I say even fair, but we can be assured that when God is directing the affairs of our lives – they are always right. So, let us learn to live, not for just the present moment, we need to live for the future. Receive the hard times as a molding of God’s plan into our perfection in Christ.