Aa All Things are Opportunities for Good
All things work together for good to those who love God, to those… called according to His purpose. —Romans 8:28 NKJV
A is for apple, but in this little book, A is also for “all things.” Ever notice how very inclusive the word “all” is? Absolutely nothing is excluded. God uses all things, everything, with no exceptions in this fallen world to creatively, lovingly, sacrificially, orchestrate His goodness to flow forth specifically to us, who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The “all things” that come into our lives— whether things of our own choosing or at the hands of others or seemingly by random chance become the medium through which He can transform our lives.
The image of this darling little girl in deep thought holding an apple, takes my mind back to the garden in Genesis. Deception caused the first young woman to doubt God and to reason her way down the path of disobedience on that fatal day.
Deceived, she ate the forbidden fruit and gave some to her husband. Then Adam, defying God’s command, ignoring God’s lavish provision of food from every tree except this one particular tree, took the forbidden fruit and ate. This deliberate act of disobedience was a choice to be independent from God and was driven by a desire to be like God, apart from God. In that day, Adam and his wife experienced immediate death on the spiritual level.
When the Omniscient One asked, “Adam where are you?” He was not asking for directions; He was making the point that Adam was now separated from God. His next question, “Who told you that you were naked?” revealed more of what that death meant. No longer was God their point of reference; they were now under new management.
Furthermore, disconnected from their Creator they were vulnerable to emotions neither had previously experienced. Fear and shame sent the couple scurrying behind bushes trying to hide from God as they busied themselves in a futile effort to cover their fallen state. Skewed thinking, self-centered choices, and irrational behavior were all by-products of being under this new management.
Paradise was lost and God’s original design for man was drastically flawed and corrupted, so that Adam became something altogether different than originally created by God. Consequently, as Adam’s descendents, each one of us comes into the world separated from God with our thinking skewed, our emotions vulnerable to fear and shame, our choices self-centered, and our bodies subject to disease and physical death.
The Bible tells us all of creation groans as a result of that fatal day in the garden. And yet, even on that day, in the midst of their rebellion against Him—God, in His love for them and us— had a plan of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration. It was a plan that would eventually crush the evil one who deceived the woman; a plan that would provide an amazing rescue mission; a plan that would impart true life and the power to live the life God desires in relationship with those who choose to respond to His loving kindness and live according to His purpose.
“All things” become opportunities to trust God for good rather than doubt Him as He was doubted in the garden; opportunities to look to Him rather than hide in fear and shame; opportunities to rely on God rather than our own schemes to try to make life work apart from Him; opportunities to embrace God rather than reject Him.
“All things” are opportunities for us to choose to believe that He will take the worst that is thrown at us in this fallen world and work it together for our good.
Thanks for the beautiful reminder that this is about so much more than just us and that God has a much bigger plan that we are included in. I do believe the truth adn choose to walk inthat belief today.
Beautifully written!
Thank you for your continued inspiration thru your limitless creativity and unconditional love for others.
God wastes nothing good or bad. Even our own poor choices are used by God to guide and influence our lives. Each adversity we face is an opportunity for us to become stronger, more faithful and draw ever closer to Christ. It is not the circumstances that determine our fate rather the faith of the person in the circumstance. Trust your hopes instead of your fears.
Thank you for this wonderful lesson. So comforting to know that I can trust God to use “all things” that come my way to bring me closer to Him.
all things….every last detail is not overlooked but used for His glory and our benefit. Such a strong promise to cling to in every circumstance.
Sally I appreciate your writing and your ability to share God’s truth in an understandable way. Keep up the great work!
It’s important for us to remember that even though God works “all thing” even our sinful choices and behaviors for the good of those who love Him… that promise does not give us a license to willingly choose sin.
Sally, you are an inspiration! I love your book and read thru it often. You are an E – “Every good and perfect gift is from above.”
So beautifully & elequently written! What a comforting reminder that God creates opportunities through “all things”. Bless you.
ALL THINGS! A much needed reminder today. Thank you.