Before you jump to any conclusions

A long time ago, after what appeared to be a terrible reversal of fortune, I grieved. My income dropped by half. Bev and I had to sell the home we owned at the time. Yes, I made some choices that contributed to my problems. I am not excusing my sin! People that knew me told me that I was getting what I deserved. But God, in His wisdom, knew exactly what I needed. His severe mercy turned that circumstance into a blessing that changed my life and the lives of many other people. He brought me to a new humility and reliance on Him. I could not see, at that time, how God was using what looked like great loss to give me His BEST, but I see clearly 25 years later.

Jeremiah watched Nebuchadnezzar’s armies invade Judah and carry off the king and some of the elite members of the nation. Then the Lord gave him a vision of two baskets of figs placed at the gates of the Temple in Jerusalem. One contained very good figs, the other worthless rotted figs! “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. ... I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. ... But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt." (Jeremiah 24:5,7-8, NIV) The people who were left in Judah concluded that those carried off to Babylon must be terrible sinners, judged by God. The opposite was the truth. God said that because of the faith they would display, the exiles would turn out to be the blessed ones, while those who were left behind in their homes in Jerusalem would fall even further away from Him, becoming spiritually rotten!

Are you going through a difficult situation? Have you concluded that God is judging you, or that He has turned His back on you? Present yourself to Him with humble, child-like faith. Like those exiles of long ago, ‘return to Him with all your heart,’ and let Him use what you might have caused by your sinfulness or what others have brought on you through their neglect or hatred to change your life. He can do it! Joseph’s brothers hated him so much they sold him into slavery in Egypt. They thought they were rid of him forever. Years later, when they appeared in an Egyptian palace to beg for food, their brother Joseph was sitting on the throne, a changed man. He told them - "Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now-life for many people." (Genesis 50:20, The Message)

Are you tempted to look at the misfortune of another Christian and shake your head as you say, “I’m sure he must have done something terrible for his life to turn out this way.” Really? You think you know enough about the state of his heart to judge him like that? Jesus’ disciples saw a man blind from birth and jumped to a similar conclusion. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” - John 9:1-3 (NIV) God had a greater purpose for that man than being born with perfect sight! That might not seem fair to us, given our limited insight, but then we are not God, are we?

Here’s a challenge from the Word. It’s only possible to live this way if we fully accept that His Resurrection life is breaking through into our lives, defeating evil, transforming us into saints - even now! Please don’t read these words as advice just to ‘grin and bear it!’ Read them for all they are worth. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4, NIV)

___________

Jesus, I am resting, resting;

In the joy of what Thou art.

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee

And Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming power

Thou hast made me whole.

David Hampton | Jean Sophia Pigott

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