Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Kingdom Principle No. I - "All Things Work Togethe for Good"

If the Bible said it, it is true and it will never change!

When God set the world in place He also set Kingdom Principles in place for all of His creation, and those principles will never change.

The very things that often annoy us and we wish could be different are the very things God has placed in our path for definite reasons. The scripture says "ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28.)

As a child I used to wonder what the world would look like if trees had grown upside down with the branches and leaves covered under the earth and the roots swayed with the breeze. I also wondered what it would have been like if all the grass had been purple or another color! It's amusing to me now how a child could wonder about some of the strangest things, but as I grew I began to understand God had a design, a beautiful one, that we would eventually appreciate in many ways. I began to understand how all things were working together in His world! I began to understand that green grass is much easier on the eyes, always! And God wanted us to watch trees grow in their graceful beauty as well as know when the fruit of each one was ready. Realizing this, I began to notice other principles are also an intertwined part of His design. How wonderful that He could reveal this to a child, and then give understanding about His beautiful world.

We can count on the sun rising every morning,without fail, and the evening bringing on night so that people would rest, sleep and be refreshed for the next day. We know that one could open the petals of a rose but we did not make it bloom. In God's economy certain creations needed time, --His time! We could change the hands of a clock but we would not have changed the time. He already set the time! We could count the apples on a tree but we could never count the trees possible in one apple. Why?...because God set principles on the earth that take care of all of his creation... bringing the night for certain ceatures to find their food etc., and comfort for people with a set time for work, play, rest and communication with Him. His principles rule with perfect precision more than we can comprehend.

A young mother once complained her pregnancy was many days overdue. When the baby was born the doctor showed her evidence if the child had been born earlier, the baby would have been born with a cleft palate (a congenital defect in the roof of the mouth.) The delayed delivery proved God was healing the baby's mouth before the baby's birth... working all things for the good of the new child!

A military friend of ours, planning to take a flight home from Lockerbee, Scotland, had to change flights suddenly and later learned that the flight he would have been on earlier, crashed and all lives on board were lost. God worked His plans to spare the life of our friend!

Delays, disappointments, broken promises or conracts, sudden changes, unjustified offenses and wounds or divine interventions may be a part of an unseen plan that God used to get your attention, to divert a crisis away from you for your good! A promotiom that was not realized, or prayer that was not answered could all be God's way of revealing He has different plans for you. If these issues are on your path talk to God about them, repent with an open heart, then be willing to let Him reveal His plan. You may not have missed His Will,... you may just need His redirection to it.

In Genesis 37, 39-50, we read the intriguing story of the life of Joseph. All things in his life were complex but they were working together for his good.

Centuries before Jacob was born, God knew about the famine that would take place in Canaan and He had a plan to orchestrate every detail to provide food for His chosen people when the time came. God permitted pain to touch Joseph's life even though He had a special future assignment for him. Jacob too, suffered for years not knowing details of what really happened to Joseph, yet God's comfort was sufficient. Though Jacob probably wept, God knew how to comfort him in his grief and sorrow while at the same time working out a very intricate plan to save him, his family and their future generations from starving.

Sometimes pain has to be a part of God's plan for a deliverance.

You and I are very human. We cannot see ahead as God can so we often become alarmed at the unknown. Though people have different personalities and dispositions God knows whom He can trust to bring about His plan, so His unique assignment is entrusted to a person He knows will work together with Him. This was true not only of Joseph but also of missionaries who go to "limited access" nations to share the gospel. While the missionaries know they are surrounded by danger, if God has sent them they know He will protect them until their assignment is finished....and the gospel has been planted in the hearts of people whom God knew were ready to receive it! God looks for people He can trust and He knows who they are. Are you one of them?

God is an awesome God! He has the master plan, but He continues to prepare people to work with Him until the harvest is finished so that Jesus can return to earth! An important truth is that God uses those individuals as examples to show His Church or an individul, or for "future history" His faithfulness and keeping power in any circumstance.

How about you? Do you know that all things are working together for good because you are part of the great company of believers who are the called according to His purpose? It may not appear to be that way in your life today but God's Word is true, so it is true!

The late Edwin Cole said, "Your circumstances combined with God's power means unlimited potential success and victory in every area of your life! Keep trusting God as Joseph did. He is working all things together for your good and His glory! Joseph experienced difficult trials for thirteem years but it prepared him to be a leader in Egypt for eighty years!"

God sees unlimited potential and victory in you and all things in your life really are working together for His glory! God loves you!