"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..."
(Romans 8:28-29)
Do you love God? Then he is at work in every situation you face, even (especially?) the "bad" ones, in order to accomplish a singular purpose...that you may be mature, conformed to the likeness of Jesus.
Think for a moment about the difficulties, hardships, tragedies, disappointments, injustices and suffering that you have experienced, or that you are experiencing right now.
I don't know about you, but too often I have responded to the "rough waters" of life with anger, fear, self-pity and questioning God's motives...even his very existence.
During these times the Enemy (the Bible refers to him as the "father of lies" and compares him to a "roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" coming "to steal, kill and destroy") has also taken advantage by filling my head with lies and deadly negative thoughts.
Perhaps you can relate to this feeling of being attacked at these times. We argue that God is not treating us fairly and continually ask, "Why me?" or "Why not me? Why was I left out when you were giving blessings to others?"
But the scripture above gives a wonderful promise to those who love God: He is at work in all situations to bring about his good purpose. His goal is not our comfort, but our being conformed to the likeness of Jesus--in our thoughts, actions, words, pursuits.
We often see in hindsight how God was present and at work all along. Wouldn't it be great if we could see in foresight how God was working? I think we can if we change what we're focusing on. Instead of asking, "Why me?", what if we begin to ask "God, what part of me is not like Jesus and needs to be changed in order to be more like him?"
The "pruning" and the "refiner's fire" are painful, but the results are beautiful. As we change our perspective, God changes our heart--and that's the goal, to think and act like Jesus.
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