Commentary by Michael VandenBerg
How we perceive God acting, very often determines whether we see the difficult things of life as faith building or punishment. If we see God as loving and compassionate, then we tend to see the difficulties we endure as being growth producing, but if we see God as only concerned with keeping us in line, then we will see difficult things we endure as being a punishment or worse yet, unjust malevolence on the part of God.
The scriptures make clear that God is not the author of evil, but will, if we allow him, take the evil that occurs to us and turn it into good results. In the Bible, two women, Mary and Martha questioned Jesus about why he allowed their brother Lazarus to die. Jesus let them know it was for the benefit of their faith that Lazarus died and then was raised to life again. We all can see the one miracle, but what about those less visible?
Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead said to the entire world that He, Jesus, had all power, even that over life and death. This is the most common of miracles that we pray for when illness strikes or life wanes. We want God to fix our lives so we can go on living them the way we have always lived them. But the bigger miracle is that when we trust God to work for our aid and salvation, we are inviting Him to work even bigger miracles in our lives. We are saying that we don’t have all the answers and would like for Him to handle the situations in the way that will work the greatest benefit for us and for those around us. It is then that the miracle of faith occurs. Faith is that which allows us to cope with whatever comes our way, both good and bad, without losing our positive outlook on life.
At age 85, one of my members of my family is faced with multiple medical challenges that threaten his life. As I visited him by his bedside, his comment is, my life is becoming increasingly difficult, but I continue to know that God is good and without Him I would be lost. Faith is trusting in the one who holds all the answers and know that He is working for our good, in spite of contrary appearances, and not our destruction. It is saying to God that we know Him to be loving and compassionate and He will take even the destructive elements of life and turn them into good results for our benefit. Even death cannot separate us from that conviction. Are you open to miracles of Faith?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insights, and in all your ways declare his goodness and he will give you the straight and reliable path to follow”. Prov. 3:5-6
