Why God, Why?

Why does God allow certain things to happen to people?

I seriously do not have an answer for every specific thing that happens to people; only God knows why He does what He does. If I had the answers, I'd never have to be concerned about anything else in life. But then, God wants us to seek Him for answers, and not one another.

A follower on Twitter posed the situation to me:  He said, "My wife had a heart attack and died in front of our year and half baby. Why did God allow that to happen?"

My response to him was this: I don't know why God allows things to happen to people. My brother was killed by my mother and I suffered from the event, but the same event brought me into relationship with God and now--not only can I have joy in my life, but I can encourage others. God knows what He's doing and all things will work out for our good. Just trust Him!

While some may not agree with my response, I know without a doubt that it was the best response I could give Him. All too often many try to explain why God does things when they don't know any more than anyone else. God is God. He doesn't have to explain Himself to us and He certainly does not need our permission to do anything.

However, there are some things in life that we do to ourselves that bring about certain consequences. If we are not conscious about our physical health and how we treat our bodies, we put ourselves into position to suffer the consequences of--heart attack, stroke, diabetes, certain cancers, etc. If we are not conscious of how we treat others, we will suffer the consequences of depression, loneliness, and other mental illnesses. Drug abuse, alcohol abuse, tobacco use, lack of exercise, overeating, unprotected sexual activity, and just plain meanness can create situations that cause us harm and could lead to death. Let's face it, if we would simply read and understand The Word, follow the instructions, and know God's voice and obey, we could avoid a lot of negative stuff occurring in our lives. It's all in there--we just need to know what "it" is and live to the glory of God!

Father, in the name of Jesus, give us understanding of how to treat our bodies--the temple where Holy Spirit lives and how to live to Your glory. Comfort the hearts of those who have lost loved ones and guide them in their grief to You, as only You can. Pour onto us Your wisdom so we may encourage one another to endure to the end and finish this race, in life.

Good Gifts!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17 NIV).

How often have people received gifts from others they really did not want, but accepted because they didn't want to appear to be rude? They would accept the gift, smile, say "thank you" and do one of two things when out of the sight of the giver. The gift would find itself in the back of the closet, the basement or a drawer and not see the light of day or was given to someone else at a later time--re-gifted. Usually, this works into a cycle and sometimes--the original gift-giver was often given the gift they had given.

Fortunately, we cannot give the gifts that God gives us to anyone else--no re-gifting here. For the gifts He gives are not physical, but they are spiritual and the Holy Spirit anoints every person whom God has determined to receive a gift (I Corinthians 12:1-11). Each spiritual gift given is for the common good of the whole. Though there may be people who are envious of another's gifts, they should earnestly seek God about their own gift and work on developing that gift. 

Unlike the scarf or tie or sweater that is sent through an evolution of hands, God's gifts cannot be re-gifted by us nor can we return them or exchange them. And why should we? If we believe that "every gift from God is a perfect gift" we should be overjoyed with what we receive. And then, get this--God knows exactly what gift we will function in to develop the Body of Christ into wholeness where every need is met.  

When we either refuse to hone the gifts given, or reject the gifts out-of-hand, we are telling God He doesn't know what He's doing. Then, there are some who are so envious of the gifts God has given others that they practice to deceive and then declare they have a gift that they manufactured, but Holy Spirit did not give. We can tell who is operating in their own "manufactured gifts" because that person has attached a dollar sign to perform it. That gift--is manufactured for their benefit, not for the perfecting and development of the Body of Christ.

The beauty of God's gift-giving is in the fact that no matter how we act--"His gifts and callings are without repentance"--He won't take them back. What happens when we don't use the gifts He has given is that we truly miss the blessings that come with "obedience" to God and the Body of Christ has a void that can only be filled with the gift we are not using. We all have a role to play in promoting the Gospel, developing unity, and perfection within the Body of Christ--all of the born-again believers--especially within the local Body. Churches that do not have spiritual gifts operating are usually dull and boring and no one is exalted other than the preacher. They are dry and stagnant, critical and judgmental because they chose not to exercise the gifts given or they manufactured a gift that does not glorify God.

I pray today that all will earnestly seek God for understanding of the Gift they have been given and then will exercise that gift to reach the perfection needed to operate in the Body of Christ to bring wholeness. Our spiritual gifts are like our bodies--if we do not exercise the body, muscles become atrophied and lax and we become weak and lazy. The same thing happens when we do not exercise our good and perfect spiritual gift from God--the Body of Christ becomes weak and lazy.

Father, in the name of Jesus, speak to our hearts and help us to understand the gifts given to us and wisdom in using them. Show us how we are to function in the Body of Christ and ignite desire in us to exercise the gift to the development of perfection to fill the void in the Body of Christ.

Heart Surgery!

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3)

Has your heart been broken lately?  Is it lying in pieces on the floor or scattered across the nation?

Hearts are such a fragile part of us--both naturally, emotionally, and spiritually.  In the natural, if we don't protect our hearts--our hearts won't function appropriately to pump the blood needed to keep us alive.  When we don't eat right or exercise or don't see doctors on a regular basis, pieces of our hearts can end up in an operating room--discarded for non-use.

If we don't guard our emotions--keep them in check--learn to love us so we'll know when others are capable of love--little bits and pieces of our hearts end up travelling across the nation when we give them away, indiscriminately.  We cannot "fall in love" with everyone we meet and when we try--we open the door for them to use their lying tongues to cut away little pieces here and there until we learn to hate more than to love.

If we don't protect our relationship with God--we allow the enemy to infiltrate and cause us to be delusional--believing any lie he puts forth and then we become depressed and oppressed.

But our God is an awesome God!  He heals and fixes all the hurts, gives us opportunity to correct the abuse of the natural heart, has inspired mankind with knowledge to keep the blood flowing so we can live--in spite of our indiscretions with food and laziness. He opens our eyes to see those who are not good for us or to us and moves them out of our lives and He never leaves us alone--He is always there, no matter what the enemy attempts to get us to believe.  Our God is the only One who can fix a heart--bind the wounds--and keep us walking upright, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  Enter into His operating room today and be healed in the name of Jesus!