And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
A few days ago, our church devotional team met to discuss next week’s sermon that we will endeavor to write about. Here is the sermon passage:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:7-12
There was an interesting thought we had in regards to the first part of the passage above. He who asks receives. He who seeks finds. And God gives good gifts, gifts that enrich our lives. What it does not say is that we necessarily get what we asked for, or that the thing we were seeking ends up being the thing that we found.
For that to make sense, I want to share a passage from a book I am reading by David Egner, Overcoming Worry:
The cares of life that weigh on us so heavily need to be placed on the shoulders of the Lord. He is even more concerned than we are about our health, our work, our friends, our family, and our nation.
It was God who helped David kill the bear, the lion, and the Philistine giant. He protected David from the murderous rages of Saul. He kept him safe in enemy territory. Perhaps that’s the reason David could write, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).
At the time that it happened, I’m not sure that David considered coming across the bear and lion, both of whom saw him as a tasty snack, as a gift from God. But because of those experiences, David was not intimidated by Goliath. Because of Goliath, David was better prepared to face Saul’s rages. And because of everything David overcame, he became the writer of Psalms that have enriched all of our lives. That is true of us as well. I often find myself quoting Jeremiah 29:11: “[God knows] the plans He has for [us]….”. But seldom do they play out in the manner we would have chosen. The passage from Romans 8:28, that I led with today, says that “all things work together for good”. It is a process. It could even take decades for God to get you where He is taking you. Even for oldies like me. As old as I am, God never stops giving. My task is to partake of those “gifts”, ones that may appear to be far from being very “gifty” at first glance, and turn my understanding of them over to my heavenly father.
1-800-ASK-GOD (-B
Gifts!!!
Note. To access scripture links that don’t appear in the email version, read the differently formatted web version in your browser.
