Till We Are Home

Job told his wife once, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10) Isn’t it fascinating that Job spoke of receiving evil after speaking also of receiving good from God? Now, I’m not advocating that evil comes from God…look at the whole testimony of Scripture including these two examples: 

-“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13)

-“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

The testimony of Scripture is clear: God is not the author of evil. And it isn’t that Job is saying anything contradictory, but what I find fascinating is the good from God relates to the evil that comes to us by the sheer fact that God is sovereign over both good and evil. 

However, I’m not here to defend this, but instead to point to another fact about God’s sovereignty over evil – that He will use even evil for good for His people. Paul tells us in Rom 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” We know from this that God is for His people and will use even evil things to work toward our good.

So, if God is sovereign over evil, and He works all things for the good of those who love Him, including the evil that happens to them, then are we willing to accept all things from God, even the good that comes from evil? Are we willing to say right now when you may find yourself in a season of good, that you will continue to trust the Lord completely and are willing to follow Him, even if that means some of those things that are very dear to you may be taken away for your good?

It doesn’t take much to think through all the implications of what this means…and then hesitate just a little bit, if you’re honest with yourself. Think about it. First off, it’s a bit unfair to ask would we be willing to give these things up for the Lord…nothing we have is even ours to give! But the line of questioning could go something like this: are we able to say we will still trust and follow the Lord if He deemed it good that our all of our children die? Or to see all of our financial security go away? Or how about if all of our possessions, including home and things, would be destroyed? If we were to be left in destitution, then to lose even good health and acquaintances, stature in life, etc., would we be able to say that we can accept the good and the evil that come in our lives like Job did?

I think we need to be honest with ourselves. What God requires of us is a whole lot…He requires our whole life (Deut 10:12-13). And, Jesus even warned His followers that following Him would require complete devotion, so they should count the cost before jumping on board (Lk 14-25-33). 

Not one bit is our own and He has every right to give and to take. And when He takes, it can be very, very painful.

So can we trust the Lord even when He takes away someone or something so precious to us? My answer is yes.

And another thing we need to realize is He doesn’t afflict from His heart. When He takes away, it’s not because He is desirous of seeing us in pain as if He were malicious for hear what Jeremiah wrote about in the middle of the siege of Jerusalem:

“For the Lord will not

    cast off forever,

but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion

    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

for he does not afflict from his heart

    or grieve the children of men.” (Lam 3:31-33)

God’s sovereign rule and reign over all things, including our lives, may mean evil things will come to us. That we may experience grief. And those evil occurrences hurt…they really hurt and are painful to endure. Yet, we can trust the Lord to work out good in those situations knowing He is all wise and sovereign to ordain the events in our life in a way that He is glorified and we are further conformed to the image of His Son. And in doing so, when those evils abound and we find ourselves beaten down, God is our refuge, strength, strong tower, and very present help in all situations…we will find comfort in Him and He will be there to wipe away our tears. 

Even when the good He desires for us comes at high costs. 

In those seasons, as in all seasons, we are to trust Him and believe that He is meaning this for our good. So we can accept all the “good” that will come…for we know our God will be near, and we keep trusting Him in each and every season…

Till we are home.