There are times we are allowed to see the visible results of the cosmic spiritual conflict in which we are engaged, as followers of Jesus Christ. Well, actually, all humans are engaged in this war, whether they want to be or not, whether they know it or not. There are many who are not even aware...
The point is that we don't usually get to see the aftermath. I believe this is because God protects us from that, knowing that with our human limitations we would be unable to bear it. We can see the results in our bodies, in our fallen world. But, if we could see our souls ... they are at the nexus of the battle. Souls crisscrossed with scars.
The greatest evil in the world battling (albeit with futility) against the Perfect Good. And, we don't merely get caught in the crosshairs; we are the battleground. The war is for the souls of men.
Is it any wonder, then, that our lives are not like those Hallmark movies I've been watching this Advent season? It is so easy to buy Satan's lie - - that God is either not in control or that His love is untrue.
It is so hard to accept that God does not make
mistakes, isn't it?
... that the battle plan somehow got screwed up, that some angelic lieutenant read it wrong ...
Satan's lie, pure and simple.
Joseph must have felt that way, when he was snatched from his home and sold to Egyptian slave traders. He wouldn't have been more than a teenager at the time. Jacob, the patriarch of these "cats in a sack", must have felt that way, when he saw his beloved son's bloodied robe. I know that, if you have lived long enough, you have felt that way too. Either you've seen a slow unraveling of your "coat of many colors" or you have seen it ripped to shreds in an instant, right before your stunned and disbelieving eyes. Torn. Undone.
With the benefit of perspective, having witnessed God's faithfulness through the many trials of his life, Jacob was able to say to his brothers, those unwitting tools of Satan - - -
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.
Genesis 50:20
The apostle Paul, centuries later, echoed the same in his letter to the Romans.
28 And we
know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose, 29 because those whom he
foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his
Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And
those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified;
and those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What
then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:28-31
Those circumstances Satan chooses and uses to tear you apart? God uses them to sanctify you, to set you apart, and to bring Himself glory. When we look at Joseph, there as he faced his brothers he'd not seen in decades, we marvel at his choice to give God the glory for the things He had done in his life, even though the ways God chose would not have been the ways he would have chosen. God allowed Joseph to see the good He was able to do through his life's experiences.
Sometimes we, too, are allowed to see how God has used our past, even our present. Other times, we are not. And, that's okay, because we can know, regardless, that God is at work. And, we know that, for those that love God, all things work together for good, battle scars to blessings.
So, what is a blessing then? All of it, for the follower of Jesus Christ, for the child of God. All is blessing, all is good. This is the counterintuitive message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, starting with your all-important salvation decision but then continuing on, blessing upon blessing, to and through eternity. His Son, our Salvation, the first gift of Christmas, and then as we walk through in faith, we receive "the riches of his glorious inheritance" ... gift upon gift upon gift!
I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him
Ephesians 1:18 (The Message)
Out of the crazy family of Jacob (and they were a wild bunch, for sure), came the Messiah, the Savior of the whole world. Who but God could have produced His Son from that mess?! Furthermore, who but our resplendent God could have taken the most cruel, unjust death ever died and transformed it into the most perfect salvation ever imagined? Only our God, who is a good, good Father.
Only He, who turns our battle scars into blessings. May His name be blessed forever! Amen.
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