"Raindrops"
FOR YOUR GOOD
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him; who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
What a powerful verse of Scripture. All things? Does that mean everything that happens to those who are believers in Jesus Christ can be assured that God is intimately involved to the last detail to be sure that every experience is brought to the good? YES! the Lord of redemption is able to take the bitterest root and by His mighty power transform its activity in our lives to bring forth fruit in our lives - to His glory and praise!
I remember being quite sick many years ago. The true trial of the illness was the inability of the physicians to come up with an accurate diagnosis. It was somehow determined to be an issue dealing with my heart. I can vividly recall the oxygen tubes, the potent pain medications, the breathlessness, the pain in the chest and a less than favorable prognosis. The Lord completely reversed the situation and the effects of that time of trial through an overnight miracle of healing. I experienced first hand, the supernatural intervention of God. Raised up to go into ministry, ultimately founding and pastoring a new church, God had surely worked it all together, as a part of the overall fabric of this life, for the good. The Lord did a work on my heart alright! The greater work natural or spiritual, who can tell? He worked them out together as only He can.
Be reminded that the Lord does not bring affliction or illness of any kind upon His children but as they come through the chasm of a fallen world, God places His grace upon it and brings it all to work in resonance with His Kingdom.
Whatever you facing, or perhaps are enduring the results of having faced, God is in there. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there. He's working it out for the good ---your good---and His purpose.
Trust Him. You'll see.
Precious Lord,
Thank you for this incredible assurance of Your loving presence, abiding with and within us and in all that comes our way. Help us to trust you through every trial and storm knowing that the Redeemer continues the work of redemption all of our journey long.
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CAN THESE BONES LIVE?
The hand of thee Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal can these bones live? I answered, O Lord God, you know." Then he said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." Ezekiel 37:1-5
Dry bones - the remnant of destruction, total devastation, long past but visibly present, memorialized in the valley. There is now a vast wasteland where fruit once was borne. Nothing left but the driest, most brittle, baked in the sun bones of yesterday's army.
Can these bones live? It doesn't appear to be possible. For that matter, it seems a better question: Have these bones ever lived?
When we look at the longstanding wastelands of poverty and hunger around the world or the ever-increasing breakdown of the family and the ethical/moral center of the society at large, like Ezekiel's vision, we have come to a valley and the bones are very dry. But can these bones live? Yes! At the command of the Lord. Prophesy to the bones. God will cause breath to come into them and they shall live.
This is resurrection. Release from the grave - from the holding place of death's remains. Are there places in your life where death has occurred? A dream no longer dreamt? Is there a hope no longer hoped for and the disappointment that has come that has seared your spirit and sapped the natural energy of life? Prepare for the breath of God. God so loves us that He prepared the process of restoration long before we would know of our need for it. At the unction of God, through Jesus Christ, command the wind - prophesy to it - call forth the breath. Inhale --- exhale --- LIVE!
Dear "Daddy" God.
O, that I will recognize that in You there is always a place of hope, You give life and your plan is life in abundance. Help me, I pray, to speak more boldly in your name into the grave areas around me and in doing so, see life restored, in Jesus name.
