Devotional Message

"ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD"

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

THE PROMISE is Not for Everyone -

If this promise was intended for everyone, then everything would work out for the best for everyone regardless of their relationship with God. But we all know this is not the case. When we stop being spiritual and become carnal or of the flesh, we become estranged from our Maker! Those for whom the promise of "all things work together for good" was intended for people who have an intimate relationship with the Lord!

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Romans 8: 7-9

The statement that "the carnal mind is enmity against God" is an interesting one and it is not a familiar term for most of us. The term enmity according to the dictionary is the extreme ill will or hatred that exists between two parties. Strong's refers to enmity as - hated, odious, hateful, hostile, and opposing (God) in the mind. Apparently this term is a very powerful negative term that defines someone that God loathes when he comes before God with some pressing need. But then again nothing is impossible with God and even such people have hope!

Another text that explains God's attitude towards people who are still living in sin is the following; "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:2 There are countless denominations that swear that God answers all prayer and that He will not stop loving us no matter what we do!

When we read Isaiah 59:2, we know God is referring to people with whom He once had a relationship with and have behaved in such a way that God no longer hears their prayer and even hides His face when they call on him! It makes me wonder if people who doubt this are reading the same Bible we do. I believe this is just because many pastors in non-denominational churches preach only a "feel good" message so as not to step on any toes! But if we are headed in the wrong direction, shouldn't a good pastor warn us before it is too late?

For Whom is This Promise?

Well we know for who this promise is not! So for who is it anyway? "Now we know that God hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and does his will, him he hears." John 9:31 There is a two part requirement of those who will be the beneficiaries of this promise and that is to worship and to do His will. But true worship is not just attending church as some may think. According to Strong's, worship is a fulfillment of one's duty towards God. It is a general term, meaning religious in a good sense. It is used to include the fulfillment of obligations of all kinds, both towards God and man.

Duty towards God is related to the duty we have towards people. Consider that prayer will not be accepted or heard when we refuse to help those in need; "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." Proverbs 21:13 Our Savior would also put it this way; "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Matthew 25:44

When the Lord refers to worship, it refers to something far more profound than church attendance. The Lord is more concerned with how we conduct our lives throughout the time away from the church service and not just in the church service. Whatever we do in this world, if we were to do it as if we were doing it for the Lord, I believe that God would feel proud of our efforts. Whether we are helping people in need or simply earning a living, we can glorify the Lord wherever we are!

I once saw a small sign on the wall of a small shop that got my attention. It said: "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep the streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, "Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well." Martin Luther King

I had been unemployed for a time as many of us will find themselves at least once in their lives. I had returned to school and I really wasn't looking for a full-time job. I figured that would come once I got my degree in computer Science. So I got myself on the list of an agency that would send people out on temporary assignments. There was no fee for their service because they passed on the cost to the employer. The only requirement was that whoever was sent on an assignment had to be dependable and would not turn down any task. If you did then they would not call you back.

I had a very young family still and my youngest was just a few months old. I wasn't getting a lot of pay but it was keeping our family together through those lean times as I went to school in the evenings. I had a lot of unusual jobs that included working for a moving company, setting up voting booths, stocking shelves at a store, and unloading trucks. I worked a few weeks at a soda bottling company too! No assignment lasted more than a few weeks.

But the very worse job I ever got was working at the warehouse of a local grocery chain. Did you ever wonder what happened to all those items that were broken or damaged at a grocery store? They have to be sent back to the manufacturer so that the store owner can get his money back. The trouble is that these items are thrown in a box and sent to the warehouse where they sit for months on end before they are repackaged and sent back to the company.

These items are generally food items that have become rancid and smell horrible. We were handed gloves to go through the items in the boxes because we were warned that there could be broken glass that could cut our hands. But the truth was that many of these boxes were full of insects and all sorts of vermin!

The first time I stuck my gloved hands into one of these boxes, I literally had ten tiny mice hanging from my fingers. I instinctively attempted to shake them off my hands when one of my colleagues shouted, "Stop - I want those for my pet snake!" He quickly grabbed them from my hands and put them in a container that was already teeming with rats of all sizes.

I felt depressed at that moment and wondered how my life had sunk so low. Why would God put me in such a demeaning situation? How could I further his Kingdom and bring glory to His name in such a terrible place to work. But I recalled that quote from Martin Luther and wondered if this applied to my current situation. I also recalled the following; "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:10

I decided to thank God for a paycheck at the end of the day so that my young family could continue to eat! So I made the most of it and decided never to turn down any job however humble it might be. Now many years later as I sit in my office I think about what it took to get to where I now find myself. I think of all the people who work in obscurity and no one ever seems to notice them as they work behind the scenes.

I looked out the window of the glass door once and spotted a cleaning lady. I walked up to her in the hallway and asked, "Excuse me - are you the lady who cleans my office?" She looked at me in terror and asked, "Yes - is there something wrong?" I smiled at her and said, "No, no - I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate what you do!" She looked confused and said, "But sir - that's my job!" Then I said, "Yes but you do it as if you are cleaning God's house!" Her eyes immediately welled up and she said, "That's the nicest thing anyone ever said to me." I told her, "It's about time someone did!"

I guess she must have told the other housekeepers about what I said to her because they always tell me good morning and wave to me when I walk the hallways. They are no longer anonymous! They know that they matter to someone. I realize the Lord must have put me through those difficult times of humble work in part to appreciate what I now have but in a greater part because He wanted me to respect those who are called to do work that of a servant as well.

Are you a stay at home mom (a domestic engineer)? Take care of that house as if it is God's house and raise those kids as if you are raising the children of the King! You are! Maybe you work in an office or in some job you consider mundane and boring. Bear in mind that you can worship God just by abiding in him wherever you are and doing your very best! "Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God." I Corinthians 7:24

THE HEART OF THE PROMISE.

There are several things you must consider or be aware of regarding the promise of everything working out for the best for God's people. The first one is based on the following verse; "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will:" Ephesians 1:11

Everything that happens to you is controlled by God's purpose.

I think that people assume that God is to blame for everything that happens in life. As a result, they blame Him for everything that goes wrong! If they have a car accident they think it's God's fault and that He should have helped steer the car better. If they get sick, they imagine God made them sick in disregard the fact that they are responsible for maintaining good health! If they lose things, they claim God hid it from them! If they lose their job, they feel as if god had them fired!

The truth is that God does not make things happen to us

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." Ecclesiastes 9:11