This is a rationale that I have utilized to stabilize myself under difficult circumstances of late,
and to good effect.
No matter how tough things are, there is a positive Divine reason behind it, and an assured
positive outcome. Many times the vistory reaps only spiritual reward or gain, but inasmuch
as happiness, and everything worthwhile in this life are constructed of spiritual bricks,
an experience which enriches our spiritual life is the positive intent of God.
But even negatives which we cause in our own lives are converted to positives when we cycle
Bible doctrine and approach each situation with Divine viewpoint, which involves a GRACE
attitude, not only in respect to our own blessings, but the blessings which we, ourselves,
bring into the lives of others.
Take the teenage girl, a friend of my daughters, who was caught painting a vacant building,
a business enterprise, and was hauled into court for vandalism. She was sentenced to do
community service, and chose Goodwill as one of her non-profit organizations. She went
in there with a positve attitude, was respectful to the personnel, worked hard at her
assinments, and the ladies raved about her, even offered her a part time job during the
school year.
Whether she realizes it or not, this young girl employed the fundamental principles of
Divine establishment; respect for authority and a sense of responsibility, her humility
in accepting her punishment, and avoidance of bitterness or arrogance, and she was
blessed by the positive power of grace, God's intent.
There are times that a Divine positive doesn't necessarily conform to our idea of a
positive, such as capitol punishment, but God deals in realities, sometimes harsh
ones. He has never shirked His responsibility to rule the Universe, under any
circumstances, and never will. There is one individual in this picture whom recieves
the full brunt of Divine justice, the criminal, and he is definately aware that his
lot is negative, extremely negatgive.
Whereas grace may treat us gently involving a sin, God comes down hard on crime every
time. In this one catagory of human activity He does not spare the rod. This is because
freedom is a paramount consideration in the Divine scheme, as the requisite millieu
for the dissemination of the Gospel message of The Christ, without fear of retribution
or persecution. Any assault on freedom, which is crimnal in nature, will be smashed
in it's infancy by Divine fiat.
So in spite of the pain which the guilty suffer, there is a positive intent at work,
that of ridding society of a disease, and thereby protecting freedom.
More pertinent to our daily lives is the reassurance that this line of reasoning brings
to bear when circumstances degenerate into a squalid mess. Bills due, personal conflicts,
the kid wrecked the car, yada, yada....there are a litany of distractions that threaten
to overwhelm our peace of mind at times....but their effect is neutralized when we
remind ourselves that there is a Divine positive in the making in all of these situations.
God has pre-programmed a positive outcome in every nuance of our humdrum lives.
Life's complex problems form a maze, a hostile labyrinth to navigate, in which the
nature of our environment is troubling, invasive. From the human perspective there
is no hope, you must sacrifice something to make the situation right, you get
moody, grouchy.
Only one source of knowledge can lead us through this puzzle, and impart a shroud of
contentment in the passing. Although we don't always understand the cause of a problem,
one thing we do know....God has provided a solution before the creation of the Universe.
To those who love Him, and are the called according to His predetermined plan, all things
happen for good.
We tap the very power of God when we assimilate His Word, what He termed "The Mind of Christ",
and He commanded us to "have this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus...". God has made
it painfully simple for even the most obtuse mind, and His instructions say nothing about
evaluating the facts, making risky decisions, finding out what gives....none of that. He
commands us to learn the Mind of Christ, with the expressed intention that we are to
emulate the Person of Christ, whose thoughts are recorded for all eternity.
These thoughts aren't so simply explined as written language. Knowing the words isn't gaining
the Mind of Christ, but learning what motives and values our Lord employed in His thoughts.
Just repeating verses by rote is no more an accomplishment than learning the script for Hamlet
and rendering an impeccable performance. A laudable feat perhaps, but nothing of a spiritual
nature. A parrot can mimick human speech.
This is where the ministry of God The Holy Spirit eneters the picture. Who can know the thinking
of God, but the Spirit of God instruct him? God thoughts are not our thoughts, but infinitly
higher, far greater than our ability to comprehend. So God has willed to teach us personally,
and He created the human soul to respond to Divine revelation.
We are faced with the task of dealing with daily circumstances, but God has supplied us with a
weapon far superior to the disabling effects of these situations, The Mind of Christ. Greater is
He Who is in us, than he who is in the world..." The trick is discovering the positive in many
situations, and to do so one must be sensative to the spiritual entity within. It may seem at
times that the gain is not worth the sacrifice, but keep in mind that God is the Master Architect,
the potter who shapes these earthen vessels with His own hands, and ever victory, no matter how
insignificant, is contributing to the integrity of the whole.
There will come a day when our journey is completed, just as Paul's was when he noted that he had
beedn "crucified" to the details of the world. The absolute joy of communing with God on so
intimate a platteu renders the flesh, and all aspects of this temporal existence, unimportant,
except as we are needful of food and shelter. God provides these with ease, but more difficult
to impute are the higher provision which require some measure of response and decision on our part.
Very few are the Christians, comparatively speaking, that ever break through the material barrier,
but we can be certain that the journy is well worth the reward.