Skip to main content

The news is good, pt. 2

By saying that if I know God, then all the news is good does not deny the existence of my pain, suffering, loneliness, fears, and so forth. I am not viewing the world and my experiences through the lenses of foolish rose-colored glasses that deny the reality of pain and suffering in the world. Nor am I some wide-eyed optimist quoting appropriate scripture inappropriately at inopportune times ("Well you know, God works all things to the good of those who love him!").

By saying that when I know the Lord and walk in His ways then the news is always good, I am saying that my experience with God is better by far than all the pain I have had to endure and all the good things I think I have missed out on in life. I have God, and that is more than enough.

To say that means I am standing on something deeper and more solid than the experiences of this life alone. I am taking hold of a timeless truth and allowing it to shape the way I view this world and all that happens to me. God is good, always acting in my long-term best interests. That truth will never change, so I must live in it and allow God to have His way with me. I have placed my faith in God - in who He is, believing His actions always reflect who He is, and He is good, full of grace, love and mercy (and, by the way, full of justice, truth, holiness, and righteousness, lest we forget).

I never want my wounds, fears, regrets and anxieties to reveal that I have more faith in them than I do in God. If that were the case, could I really say that I have known God?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Racing with Horses, Walking on Water, and Accepting My Weakness

I am tired of Hurricane Harvey. I am ready for all of this to be done and for things to settle down. I long for the routine, familiar, and predictable. I have had enough of trying to limit or mitigate the effects of Harvey on my family and property. I have become worn out trying to control and make sense of how my church is recovering from the hurricane. I am just about through with the ongoing, and seemingly never ending, management issues related to hundreds of volunteers funneling through my church on a weekly basis to assist our community in the recovery efforts. The logistics of making it all work week in and week out, the delicate dance of being the pastor to all the personalities involved, is exhausting. Add to this my broken heart for our community. I receive gut punches every day as I listen to the stories of evacuation, recovery, and rebuild. I steel myself to being able to do what I can each week and letting everything else go. I am sick of people saying the Lord will ...

Seven Questions Facing FBC Rockport in 2018, part 4

I think our church is a work in progress right now. We are in a process of discovery, learning how and what kind of church God is making us into. The process is far from over. I think we will know much more by the fall of 2018. Until then, I ask for patience, courage, and commitment from all our members. Please join me in seeking the Lord concerning the answers to the following questions. I have included my thoughts as of right now, but nothing is final or written in stone. Here are the seven questions I think are facing us as we enter 2018: 1. How will we be connected to one another? 2. What will our worship and weekly schedule look like over the course of a year? 3. How will we reach out to and serve our community? 4. How will new people be connected to our church and what will that mean for our space usage? 5.  What kind of volunteer base and financial resources will be available to us as we plan for ministries, o...

Seven Questions Facing FBC Rockport in 2018, part 3

I think our church is a work in progress right now. We are in a process of discovery, learning how and what kind of church God is making us into. The process is far from over. I think we will know much more by the fall of 2018. Until then, I ask for patience, courage, and commitment from all our members. Please join me in seeking the Lord concerning the answers to the following questions. I have included my thoughts as of right now, but nothing is final or written in stone. Here are the seven questions I think are facing us as we enter 2018: 1. How will we be connected to one another? 2. What will our worship and weekly schedule look like over the course of a year? 3. How will we reach out to and serve our community? 4. How will new people be connected to our church and what will that mean for our space usage? 5.  What kind of volunteer base and financial resources will be available to us as we plan for ministries, outreach, mission ...