TO GOD BE THE GLORY
Philippians 1:12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
We would think that once we became a Christian and started loving Jesus and living our life to bless him that our life would be a rose garden. The thing is every Christian knows that it rains on the just and unjust. In other words bad people are blessed just like good people, even Christians. And the reverse is also true. Bad things happen to bad people and unfortunately bad things happen to good people and even Christians. The difference is for the Christian all things work together for the good for those that love the Lord and called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) When God brings blessings to the Christian it is for good reasons. Satan, the powers of darkness and the evil of this world will bring good to people, but it will always come at a price. Illinois State Government is known for their pay to play mentality. Some high ranking officials are even in prison for the practice. It works on a very simple principle. The person that is willing to pay the most for something gets it. It’s kind of like E-Bay on steroids and gone wrong!
Part of the problem with it is once it is done there is an obligation for further sin and control. Do something wrong and there is the threat to be exposed, so people can be multiplied. It can be like quick sand. Once you are in it the more it pulls you down until you have lost all control. Very often crime will do this to get control of people. A common practice for drug dealers is to give free samples of their drug to someone and once they are hooked, then the drugs begin to cost a lot more. And if the person can not pay then other means of payment needs to be made. People that would never consider committing a crime or even killing someone finds themselves doing the unthinkable.
For the Christian not only do we face the assault of Satan, the powers of darkness and the evil of this world, but sometimes we get ourselves in trouble. Sad to say I have done that very thing. I would hold my head and think, “What was I thinking?” The problem with stuff like that is there is no taking it back. We can’t roll back the clock and relive the event. Now all we can do is to deal with it. But for the Christian there is hope. Even though we may have messed up on our own doing, the Lord will come to our rescue and help us get out of it or through it. The Lord certainly doesn’t keep all the storms from us like with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. While Jesus let Lazarus die, he also came to bring him back to life. And in doing so Jesus was glorified and others given hope.
The Apostle Paul had many trial and tribulations. Sometimes he brought them on himself, other times it was the freedom of creation and of course there were times that Satan and the powers of darkness had attacked him. Each time the Lord was there with him. Sometimes things seemed to have escaped the Lord’s help like when he was stoned and left for dead, or the many times he was beaten with rods or whipped terribly. He was shipwrecked several times, bitten by a poisonous snake and had a thorn in the flesh by a messenger from Satan. None of these things turned Paul from the Lord, or caused him to bad mouth Jesus. Instead it made him more resolved to continue on doing what was right and to glorify Jesus.
Many people have turned away from Jesus for far less things. In John 6:60-69 we see that many of Jesus disciples turned away from following Jesus because they refused to take Holy Communion. When Jesus said that unless they eat of his flesh and drink of his blood they would have no life in them, they could not accept it and they left him. The rich young man left Jesus, because he didn’t want to give up his wealth.
Jim Elliot was a missionary to South America. When he told his father he was going to go, his father told him that he would not receive his inheritance if he did. In response Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he can not loose.” He went on to the mission field to tell others about the love and salvation of Jesus. In doing so he lost not only his inheritance, but his life as well. The good news was that because of his love and commitment to Jesus he has inspired people all over the world to take a stand for Jesus no matter what the cost. Just like Paul he could say that what had happened to him while unpleasant was for the good of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In our life we will have good and bad come our way. One thing we can be assured of is that we will never have to go through them alone. Jesus will be with us every step of the way. And infact much of the way it will be like the poem “Footprints in the Sand”. In it a person was walking on the sand by the ocean that represented their life. At the end when they stopped and turned around there were times when there were only one set of footprints. When they ask the Lord why he wasn’t there in the hardest of times, he said that it was then that he was carrying them. While the poem wasn’t necessarily true, the fact is that Jesus said that he would never leave us or forsake us certainly is. Good times and bad Jesus will be there with us as long as we want him to be there. Walk each day of your life knowing that when you turn around there will always be two sets of footprints, except for the times he has had to carry you.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us so much. Thank you for straightening up the mistakes we make and keeping us from harm. You are a wonderful God and Savior. Please help us to glorify you in our pilgrim's progress we call or life. When our journey on this earth is over, we pray that we will have only brought glory to you and encouragement to others. We ask this in your holy name.
