It's All Good! (I promise)

People think I am naïve sometimes.   I admit I can be in my attempt to believe the best in people.  I often push aside what I am thinking to listen and process what I am being told.  That often makes me look naïve.   So when someone promises me something, or tells me something that sounds suspect…. I give them the benefit of the belief….for the moment.  Of course, I may not align my life around what they say, especially if I have noticed a pattern or history that concerns me.  But for that moment at least, I am there with them.  How they do in the future lets me know if my trust has been well placed.

 Promises, Promises, Promises!

A PROMISE is defined as:   a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen:  an express assurance on which expectation is to be based

In a time that people’s word is no longer their bond, it can become difficult to hear and respond easily to what is being promised.  One reason is distrust.  If we have been burned before, we find it hard to match what you say with what you will ultimately do.  The same is true in our personal or professional lives. 

Some of us have been promised a promotion or raise, a promise to love, cherish and to be faithful, a promise to be there when you get off work, or a promise to take you somewhere great for your special day.   Sometimes promises are dropped, forgotten or simply broken.  Still we make them and try to believe when we are given a promise.  Some of us may be at the breaking point where promises are just emotionally charged lies with encouraging words.    No one wants to be lied to. 

GOD’S PROMISE

Yes we may have experienced heartbreak with people, but the bible tells us this about God and His promises:

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?           Numbers 23:19

For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,   saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you."    And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.                   Hebrews 6:13-15

God is not like man.  Many times we will judge God based on how people have dealt with us.  If we do that, we will miss Him in so many ways.  People are always subject to bad behavior, we are always tempted to be selfish and to lie.  But God is not like us, He keeps His word.   With that said, I want to share one of His great promises.

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

IT’S ALL GOOD!

This has always been one of my favorite promises. Maybe I love it because it almost gets me off the hook for some of the poor decisions I have made in the past.  I like the thought that the bad things I have done or that have happened to me will ultimately work out. 

I remember talking to a gentleman once about something that was going on in his life. 

It was a MESS!   He explained in details the things he was facing and the repercussions of choices he made as well as the potential future fall out from the decisions he was yet to make.   After talking in length, he calmly said “But, It’s All Good.”     I was thrown for a moment.  He may as well have said “Oh well, whatever will be will be” as if none of this had to do with him.  

I didn’t quite understand that mindset, and I mentioned it to him.  He reminded me of this scripture and said “God promised He would work this out for me.” 

Now,  I love this promise, but should I continue making bad decisions just because grace is supposed to abound?   God forbid!  It should not be a license to keep making those mistakes, especially since they still come with  consequences.    I don’t have a get out of jail free card that I can play when things get thick.  I have to live through this stuff even if I believe that God will bring it all around and make it good.  Maybe if I ask God first and take time to  make better decisions, these things will still work out, and I will be growing in the process.  

It is hard to imagine sometimes how on earth this promise can be fulfilled.  If we had to try to imagine it being ‘good’ in the midst of whatever is going bad, we wouldn’t always be able to see it, but we still have His promise.  And God keeps His promises.

I am making an effort to give God better things to work with.  Yes, the promise covers all the bad things, but if I work towards His purpose and plan with Him in mind, I still get the benefits of the promise without the rabbit trail of stuff that needs fixing. 

I love God's promise, but I also love Him and want to please Him.   Focusing on His word and what He has asked me to do, helps me in my every day life.  I can actually live a life that is good instead of just waiting for my bad to become good.  He is going to do what He said He would do, but will I?

WHAT THINGS WORK OUT?

Whatever you are dealing with today, will work  out, if you love God and are called according to His purpose.  The wrongs that have been done to you, the jobs you may have lost, and the things that make you cry.  Even in this election year, we cannot see how anything in this is going to be good later, but if you love God and are called according to His purpose, God will even make the next years good for YOU. 

Remember it shouldn't just be bad stuff working out, what about the time spent in prayer, the mentoring moments you sow into someone else, the counsel you give your kids and the money you give to charity.  Think about the good working out, not just the bad! And plan to give God more good to work with instead of just our missteps.

Don't allow past views on promises to change what you expect from God.   God said ALL things will work for our good.  I know He keeps His word, I believe Him and look for the good in everything.  Call me naïve, but I know His record and I give Him - not the benefit of my belief, but the power of my faith.  He has my future in His hands and has plans to bring me to an expected end.  So regardless to what I am dealing with or what I am planning for I now understand that .... It’s All Good!