May 22

In church yesterday morning, we were discussing the Sermon on the Mount and more specifically, the Lord's Prayer. It's something we've probably all heard and most of us even repeat without really thinking about the meaning behind the words. I know I have. But diving into the meaning of those words really opened my eyes. More specifically, the line "Your will be done." So often, we pray and ask for things- I want this, I need this, if this could just happen... But I haven't thought about what God wants. What's His will? Is it the same as mine? He knows our wants and wishes before we say them and I believe in coming to Him with all our troubles, but I think it's important to consider that His will isn't always the same as ours and although that may be tough to handle sometimes, it's a better plan than the one we've created in our minds. 

John 16:33 "Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

It's an imperfect world where sorrow and struggles occur all the time. One question even believers often ask is how God lets bad things happen to good people. Maureen heard about a book titled "Walking with God through Pain and Suffering" by Timothy Keller and ordered it for me. I was thinking it would help handle answering that question. The book starts with an intro chapter that tells you what the book contains and gives a suggestion on how to go about reading it. Keller suggested skipping ahead to part two if you're actually in the midst of hardships, so that's exactly what I did. And, believe it or not, he dove right into answering that question. Genesis 1 and 2 shows us a world God created without death or suffering. The evil seen in today's world wasn't part of God's original design. Keller pointed out that even a peaceful death at the age of 90 wasn't the way things were meant to be. Genesis 3 shows that darkness came into the world because humankind refused to let God be in control. I like that he said "the world is too fallen and deeply broken to divide into a neat pattern of good people having good lives and bad people having bad lives. The brokenness of the world is inherited by the entire human race." Even Matthew 5:45 says "the sun shines and rain falls on both the just and unjust." 

There was a man that worked on a farm and had an accident on the job...Chad Hymas ignored the low hydraulic fluid  warning on his tractor because he was in too much of a hurry to get home and see his son walking for the first time. He was moving hay and feeding the animals when a ton of hay fell on the tractor and paralyzed him instantly. He came to Winchester not long ago to talk to the employees at White House Apple and my friends- the Gums, gave me one of his books. He talks about how he wouldn't change time and go back to redo that day over because he wasn't a very good person before his accident. It changed him for the better. I've heard my mom talk about that a few times to other people and say that that's what's hard for me- I WAS a good person before I got sick (or at least I felt like I was.) Keller really got me thinking when he said that when we stand back to consider the premise- that God owes us a good life- it is clearly unwarranted. If there really is an infinitely glorious God, why should the universe revolve around us rather than around Him? He goes on to say "perhaps the real puzzle is this: Why, in light of our behavior as a human race, does God allow so much happiness?" Well that's something to think about. Romans 8:28 says how bad things "work together for good." Is it because God allowed evil because it brings us far greater glory and joy than we would've had otherwise? Could eventual glory and joy be infinitely greater? What if the future is greater because of the brokenness?  If so, then it would mean evil isn't just an obstacle, preventing beauty and happiness, but it would have only made it better and evil would've done the opposite of what it intended. Dusty and I talk about that sometimes. We're not going to take anything for granted ever again and maybe it'll make us that much more appreciative. Maybe we'll be even happier people because we know how fast things can change or how bad life can get. This is such a good book already and I've barely read a quarter of it. It's really challenging me and making me think, but also helping me cope in a way.