53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law started to come down hard on Jesus. They badgered and harassed and basically just had it in for the only One who could save them. Isn’t that so human nature? We often unknowingly (and sometimes knowingly) fight so hard against what is actually the best for us! I made up my mind several years ago to quit “kicking against the goads”, fighting, if you will, against God’s greatest for me! Really, how dumb of me to think that I would know better than the One who created me what is ultimately best for my life. Paul tells us so clearly in I Corinthians we only have partial knowledge or tunnel vision if you like while God sees everything perfectly and to completion, His ultimate goal being Christ perfected in our bodies of flesh:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Cor 13:12 (NIV)
I am learning, albeit very slowly, to embrace with joy what He allows in my life, knowing that it is always for my good and for His glory – never one surpassing the other. Is this not the essence of Romans 8:28-31?28 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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:28-31 (NIV) Indeed, if God the self existent One, the Sovereign Creator is for believers, no one can oppose us successfully. Neither Satan nor his demonic powers can prevail and triumph over us. What a mighty God we serve! I am reminded of Job’s words to God: 1 Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. Job 42:1-3 (NIV)
We are finite and God in infinite – we need to get over thinking our way is best! Remember the benefit we receive in our lives from the circumstance allowed is directly related to our embracing of it. Meaning, the question should not be “Why is this happening to me?” but rather, “What am I to learn through this that will make me more like Christ?” All that God allows is out of love for us. We must believe that! Paul goes on to say: 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
"The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God cannot sustain you!" Anonymous Our lack of obedience stems from our lack of trust. We cannot believe that some of our circumstances could possibly be for our good. While the circumstance itself is not good, the effect of the circumstance upon the life of the believer is always designed for their ultimate good. God is in the business of conforming us to the image of His Son. He is not in the business of simply making life easy for us. Indeed, the promise of the Old Testament was blessing while the promise of the New Testament, trials. 33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)
“Grief exalts us, and troubles lift us.” Charles Spurgeon Jesus is warning us here to expect hardship yet He tells us to be courageous and filled with peace because He is the Victor! He has overcome the world’s system through the cross. Paul tells us plainly in Colossians: 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Col 2:13-15 (NIV) "If we study the lives of great men and women carefully and unemotionally we find that, invariably, greatness was developed, tested and revealed through the darker periods of their lives. One of the largest tributaries of the RIVER OF GREATNESS is always the STREAM OF ADVERSITY." Cavett Robert