Letter to me from David C.
Two things that the Scripture teaches that I need to embrace daily. The sovereignty of God and the goodness of God. If God is not sovereign; then life is a roll of the dice and there is no guarantee of a desirable outcome. If God is not good; then we are subject to evil and calamity.
But God is both sovereign and good. Psalm 145:17 “The Lord is righteous in all of His ways and kind in all of His deeds.” My failure to understand it does not change the reality of it.
We struggle to think that God is good and sovereign when we watch bad things happen in our lives and the lives of others. We tend to “sell” Christianity as a life enhancing experience where God is committed to our happiness, success, pleasure, health, etc. Hebrews says that God “scourges every son that He receives”. What?! Why? Because we need it.
We need it to grow into the image and character of Jesus. Years ago, before I purchased a bench grinder, I had a hand file to sharpen the lawn mower blade. It was slow, hard work. There are elements in our lives that I think God is working to refine, sharpen, change, improve. It takes time.
I get really irritated with Christians who preach that you can take 2 verses, memorize them, and you will be fine. Really irritated. We have been shaped by our experiences in life over time and, for the most part, they are not easily fixed. God is growing us up. It is through the crucible that refining comes. Proverbs says, “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts”. The word “tests” is the same thought of “refining”. God doesn’t wonder about the status and nature of my heart…He knows. And He knows how to refine and shape me towards the image of His Son. There is far more pain involved in the process than I am happy with.
You hear occasionally in the Special Ops community the phrase “embrace the suck”. It is the willingness to lean into the pain and push through. For the believer it is giving thanks in all things because our loving Father is both sovereign and good. Is it pleasant? No. Can we rejoice? Yes. We have the Holy Spirit and the ability to choose to override our emotions and lift our eyes to our Father.
Your brother,
David
J3Khai.fun 