April 18, 2012
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. -- Romans 11: 36 (NIV)
It is so easy to get down in this life. Things do not always go the way we wanted, we planned, or even the way we thought God was going to do them. When our Spirit gets down it is a playground for the enemy to plant seeds of doubt, despair, and confusion. I save Scriptures and devotionals in a folder in my email account and draw from them in difficult or confusing times to see what God wants to say. Today I found the above verse as a reminder to me who everything is about.
First of all, everything we have in this life is from God. There can be no doubt or wavering in our walk about the supernatural provision of Almighty God. Unfortunately we can lose this within the bless me theology that is constantly seeking and never appreciating. If God never gives us another thing in this lifetime He has already given us everything. Our life, families, friends, faith, and above all else -- eternal life. Our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life. Because of the sacrifice of His only Son, we have conquered death and are promised an eternity in heaven praising the God who created us. According to Romans 8:28, He is working everything out for our good. Nothing was accomplished within my own strength, within my own skills, within my own abilities. Everything comes from Him!
Secondly, everything comes through Him. Here is the deep theology for today -- sometimes the answer of "no" from God is in fact a blessing. He sees all time. He sees what the outcome would be for anything we seek. While the first reminder is about everything we already have received this promise deals with everything currently going on in our life and everything that is yet to come. God has already written the story beloved. He already has your part and my part written. He has the blueprint. Abraham did not know why he was asked to leave his country but he left because God said to. Joshua did not understand why he had to run around the walls of Jericho seven times and then shout, but he trusted that God did. The Bible says that ways of God are so far above our ways. In the battle of our human logic and His godly wisdom, I pray we always fault on the side of His wisdom. I would rather be led by someone who already knows all the answers. Our logic after all is often sorely lacking. Everything comes through Him!
Lastly, all things are to Him. Perhaps the easiest way to explain this is to say that the NLT says it this way -- all things are intended for His glory! This is another fact we lose sight of in our planning and seeking. We think we know what will bring glory to God but only He does. This speaks also to our motivation. Is what we are undertaking truly bringing glory to God? We see so many times people and churches that are clearly not operating in a manner that brings glory to God but they think that they are! This has been happening since time began. Read the Old Testament and see how often Israel thought they were doing right. Read the Gospels -- the Pharisees believed they were the ones who were doing the will of God! Sometimes when things do not go our way we need to step back and realize that God simply knows better than we do. Forcing the issue may only result in frustration, failure, and God not being glorified. All things are to Him!
The times we feel down and defeated are very real. The feelings of not being able to understand are very real. The enemy looks for these moments to try and get us to force our hand, step out of the will of God, or question our faith. We must remain steadfast in our belief that the omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God we serve is still on the throne. He is still in control. All things we have in our life came from Him. All things that are occurring and will in the future come through Him. Everything we seek to do in this walk must be to Him. Only to God be all the glory forever!
Rev. Anthony
