Hope Discovery of the Day:
Not every curve ball that life throws us is foul.
Scripture of the Day:
Hebrews 10:36
“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (NIV)
Life has lots of curve balls. Sometimes they hit us square on the head and it just does not make sense why God would allow it in at all. It seems he would have caught the foul ball and prevented us from being hurt by it. At least that is how we as humans tend to think, right?
God should only allow in the curve balls that we think are good. And this definition of good is dependent upon our definition. Do you see the problem there? Defining something as good because it feels good to us is humanistic thinking – in a vacuum. What might be good for us might not be for good for someone else. And not every curve ball is foul.
This is where God’s sovereignty blows me away. He uses everything – the things we deem as good and the things we deem as horrible – for our good and His glory. Accepting this truth about God is easier than accepting the reality of this truth when life hurts.
Accepting God’s will for our lives when our life is a mess seems out of reach and maybe a little disingenuous. But not accepting His will for our life can also cause us to be discontent and unproductive. So what does accepting God’s will for our lives look like? Sometimes we have to look at what it is not, first, to be able to learn the stumbling blocks that prevent us from accepting God’s will.
Accepting our circumstances is not:
Apathy.
We weren’t meant to go through life not caring. We were created to relate to God in the easy and hard times. All of it – the painful and the joyful times – are a part of His perfect plan even – or especially – when life hurts.
Giving up.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Sometimes we give up right before we get a breakthrough. But giving up does not hold any promise. When we keep on keeping on, we will see the purpose of the curve ball when we get to the other side. Or perhaps it might not be until glory, but knowing the character of our God, we know our hope is firm and His purposes are always good.
Accepting God’s plan for us is:
Trusting.
Knowing His character, we can choose to trust that He knows the end. Trust does not depend on circumstances. It is grounded in the reality of Who God is. It does not look at the waves, but the One Who made the waves.
Patience.
Knowing that a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day to our God Who is outside time, patience is likely something we will need to get good at. We can be patient when we know that God’s timing is perfect. We would not want to go outside of His will or timing. Father knows best.
Endurance.
Sheer tenacity in the face of daunting times is the fruit of acceptance. When we believe God and accept His will, He will give us the strength to endure.
Surrender
So, we know the “how to’s” of acceptance, but it would be futile to go through the motions of acceptance if our hearts are not in it. Ultimately, we come to a place of accepting God’s will for us by knowing Him – really knowing Him – through his Word and prayer. God changes us as we let go of our will and recognize that the creation does not know more than the Creator. We might not appreciate the hard times and wish they had never come, but, ironically, it is when life seems hard that we often come to know God best.
Lord, help us to surrender our will, our ways, and to not just accept, but embrace Your will for our lives. Help us to trust You implicitly. You are faithful!