God’s Intentionsfeatured

I’m going to start out today on a real cheerful note:  a lot of bad things happen to us as we go through life.  Sometimes the “badness” befalls us simply because we live in a broken world where disease, death, disasters and tragedies are all too common.  Sometimes, our tough times are the consequence of our bad choices.  1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  Sometimes we aren’t the one devoured, but our lives are negatively impacted by someone else who has been devoured by evil.

Hard times are something that we all have in common and mankind has been trying to make sense of them for eons.  What we know and can be assured of is that in the midst of the bad times, God is working things out for His purposes which is our ultimate good!  His motivation is simple – love.  Unlike most of us humans, He has no ulterior motives! 

A very familiar verse (Romans 8:28) reassures us of His intentions: “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.”  Jeremiah 29:11 reinforces His message, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The story of Joseph in Genesis is a great example of God’s intentions overpowering the people or circumstances that cause us harm.  Joseph’s brothers sold Him into slavery in Egypt.  It was probably very hard for him not to have a gigantic pity-party over the next few years as he endured slavery, an unjust trial, and imprisonment.  God ultimately put him in a position of power in Egypt where he prospered.  When reunited with the brothers that sold him into slavery, he told them, “Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it only for good, and through me, He preserved the lives of countless people, as He is still doing today.” (The Voice)

This past Sunday, Acts 24 was the focus of discussion in the Sunday School class I attended.  Much to my surprise, another wonderful example of God’s good intentions is tucked away in that chapter.  In Acts 24, Paul has been falsely accused of stirring up riots and Felix, the Roman Governor of Judea was presiding over his trial.  Felix was basically a corrupt guy with no guts.  He didn’t want to make a decision, so Paul sat in jail for two years.  What emerged from our discussion on Sunday (thanks to our wonderful facilitators, Wayne and Karen!), was that God had plans for Paul for those two years.  It is likely that during his time in prison, Paul wrote letters to churches that he had started on his missionary journeys.  His companion, Luke, probably wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts during this time.  Had it not been for this unjust 2-year prison stint, our New Testament would have a giant hole in it! 

Paul wrote the letter to the Romans before he ended up in prison and I’m sure the truth of what he wrote Romans 8:28 was ever-present with him as he sat in jail.  One of the letters that he wrote during those prison years was Philippians – known as the joy letter.  In this short letter, Paul refers to joy or rejoicing 16 times.  Paul knew that God was using what had been intended to do him harm, for His good purposes.  Paul probably had no idea that his letters were going to make up a huge chunk of our New Testament, but he was totally confident that God was working for good.

When (not if) hard times come our way, we, like Paul, can be 100% sure that God’s intentions for us are good.  While we may not be able to see God’s intentions yet, it is still possible to experience joy.  We just have to keep reminding ourselves that God’s intentions for us are always good because He is always good! [jetpack_subscription_form]