All gave some and some gave allAnd some stood through for the red, white and blueAnd some had to fallAnd if you ever think of meThink of all your liberties and recall


Some gave all

God Is Good, All The Time

Funny how God gives us what we need, just when we need it. Due to the large amount of time that I spend in the car, I have the opportunity to listen to quite a bit of preaching on the radio. Between that and church, I have come to some basic understandings about this world that I missed until now. And they seem kind of important.

1. The world is not as it should be.
   In the beginning, God created a perfect world. But this world is fallen and things are no longer “good”. Creation and creatures groan together with us for a renewal of the perfection that God created (Rm 8:19-25). Remember the verse that says that if people stopped praising God, the very rocks would cry out? (Luke 19:40) I imagine it as if our very soul writhes in anguish to be renewed. And this doesn't apply only to Christians; many people are searching for a truth that is beyond their grasp. I love the book of Ecclesiastes; “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” It is not possible to be content, in the truest meaning of that word, with what we see around us.
2. God is at work.
   Many men in the Bible have seen this irony and hopelessness around us. Habakkuk brought his concerns to God and received an answer. “I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, though it be told you.” (Hab. 1:5) “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Gal 6:7) God is active today, doing things you know nothing about. God was busy yesterday, will orchestrate things tomorrow, and one day will restore all things.
3. Our daily life should be waiting on God … and being excited about it!
   So, what does that mean for today? Ecclesiastes concludes “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Eccl 12:13-14) We know that God sees us, and that justice will be served and rewards given. We also have abundant hope. This world is not our home. Sure, we live here, work here, play here, but we don't belong here. We can excitedly wait for when we go home to be with God.

Of course, it is easier to look up when there is nothing down here to hold our attention, and that is not often the case. As a twenty year old all ready to take on the world, I don't often enjoy thoughts of leaving this world for what is as yet unknown, blissful as it may be. But that is ok. The good things in this life are from God too. He has given them to us, and wants us to enjoy them.

I heard a really interesting observation the other day on a DVD series for A Case for Creation. It was either Lee Strobel or a scientist he was interviewing who said that the location of planet earth is set up in such a way as to encourage exploration. We have a transparent atmosphere, we are located in just the right portion of the Milky Way, and due to the size of and distances to the sun and moon, we have perfect eclipses that have allowed great leaps in scientific knowledge. Imagine, God set up the world so that we can learn and discover.

God is not only a God of hope for suffering people, but a God of life for those who are living. “Hearken diligently unto me [God], and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” (Is 55:2). I have always thought of Is 40:29-31 as a beautiful verse for old people. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” As a young person, this passage always made me a little nervous. But just think, there are times when I feel totally unbeatable. I can do anything! I can go anyplace! God's strength doesn't even compare to that. It goes so far beyond!

So I know that this world isn't the way it is supposed to be.  God is working, and sometimes things go great, and sometimes they go ok, and sometimes they're miserable.  But every day, I can remember that He is my unending source of strength, the one who made a world for me to discover, a judge who sees everything I do and think, the assurance of a better tomorrow, and a hope on whom I can depend.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.