My mom has me reading bestselling author Bodie Thoene's Zion Covenant series -- novels from a Christian point of view that depict the plight of Jews in pre-WWII Germany and Austria. The last thing I expected when I read another chapter before bed was that God would speak something profound to me through the pages.
In Vienna Prelude, Thoene's main character, Elisa, is struggling to forgive herself for mistakes she has made and forgive the people who have betrayed her, while also trying to understand the whats, whys, and hows of her life. She feels inadequate for the mission she has been given, so she goes to a cafe to clear her mind and to pray. A guitarist at the cafe is playing a familiar song, and Elisa is struck by the lyrics. "God alone should have my heart . . ." Elisa agrees . . . except that doesn't answer any of her questions. What is she doing here? Why did God let this happen? How can she go on? The next lyrics of the song struck me. "What God has done is rightly done!"
Thoene writes, "If [Elisa's] heart was to belong to God alone, then she must have faith that He did not make mistakes. Men might fail miserably -- that was in evidence all around. But that which was done by God would not fail."
This is the answer to the tough questions that arise in life: what God has done is rightly done!
What a test of faith! During sunny days or in the midst of storms, do we believe that what God has done is rightly done? Do we believe that God doesn't make mistakes, even when we can't imagine why He is allowing circumstances to fall the way they are?
Job immediately comes to mind. He lost everything. Did he believe that God did rightly?
"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.' In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." -Job 1:20-22
Job is a tough book to read. Forty-two chapters of sorrow and pain are made worse by his insensitive, arrogant friends. And yet . . . at the very end of the book, when the Lord speaks, Job has clearly made up his mind.
"Then Job answered the LORD and said: 'I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.'" -Job 42:1-2
What a response. Unconditional trust. Unwavering faith.
We don't know for sure that Job ever understood God's purpose this side of heaven. But Joseph did. Betrayed by his own family, sold into slavery, tempted, falsely accused, imprisoned for three years -- Joseph knew pain. But he also knew his God. Seeing God's hand in everything from getting him to Egypt, to humbling, to training, to testing, to promotion, Joseph had the faith to forgive his brothers and to say to them, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." -Genesis 50:20
What God has done is rightly done. It is He who orchestrates our lives; it is He who tests us, trains us, protects us, lifts us, loves us.
"And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." -Deuteronomy 8:2-3
God must give His consent before anything enters or exits our lives. The sheer fact that Satan must ask God's permission before attacking us (see Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6) gives me such comfort! God will only allow pain into our lives if He sees that He can bring great purpose and glory from it, and from our response to it. What a loving God we have! Our trials and pain are never, ever in vain.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of traveling to Brazil and sharing my testimony during an evening church service. The verse I summarized with is one I find myself constantly turning to when life looks bleak: "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" -Psalms 27:13-14
He is with you, holding your hand, guiding your steps. You may feel that the world is deaf, but God can hear. You may feel blind, but God can see. You may feel speechless, but God will speak. You may feel paralyzed, but God will move.
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand." -Psalms 37:23-24
Why? Why? Why? We can ask that question forever, but God may not answer it this side of heaven. The truth is, God is good! God is for His children. God is for you. God is allowing trials into your life for your good and His glory! With eyes of faith, we can see His loving hand in every detail.
Even though it doesn't make sense to a watching world . . . .
What God has done is rightly done. It is He who orchestrates our lives; it is He who tests us, trains us, protects us, lifts us, loves us.
"And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." -Deuteronomy 8:2-3
God must give His consent before anything enters or exits our lives. The sheer fact that Satan must ask God's permission before attacking us (see Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6) gives me such comfort! God will only allow pain into our lives if He sees that He can bring great purpose and glory from it, and from our response to it. What a loving God we have! Our trials and pain are never, ever in vain.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of traveling to Brazil and sharing my testimony during an evening church service. The verse I summarized with is one I find myself constantly turning to when life looks bleak: "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" -Psalms 27:13-14
He is with you, holding your hand, guiding your steps. You may feel that the world is deaf, but God can hear. You may feel blind, but God can see. You may feel speechless, but God will speak. You may feel paralyzed, but God will move.
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand." -Psalms 37:23-24
Why? Why? Why? We can ask that question forever, but God may not answer it this side of heaven. The truth is, God is good! God is for His children. God is for you. God is allowing trials into your life for your good and His glory! With eyes of faith, we can see His loving hand in every detail.
Even though it doesn't make sense to a watching world . . . .
"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?' And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, 'This man is calling Elijah.' And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to Him to drink. But the others said, 'Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.' And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with Him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" -Matthew 27:45-54
What God has done is rightly done.
