All things turned to the good

I have a recommendation this morning, one that can change your life if you allow it to.

No, I'm not suggesting that you, my loyal or first-time reader, invest in something new or learn a new language (Rosetta stone anyone?). No, I'm suggesting something so easy it is only a miracle that no one has not suggested it to you much, much earlier.

It's simple. Find a Bible, read chapter 8 of a book called Romans. Second one in the thing called the New Testament. All the rest of the Bible can do the same changing of lives, especially the book of John that explains this person named Jesus. But assuming you've heard of this man named Jesus, go on to Romans, chapter 8, which is my personal choice for the greatest chapter in scripture. It comes after chapter 7, which is the one that turned my life completely around when I discovered others have the same issues with mistakes and falling short that I have.

Now, take a moment over coffee, or out in the garden, or over your desk at work, or driving to and from, or even at your kid's practice. Reflect on the words of the chapter when you've got a while.

If you have time and inclination, read the dang thing. It's not 50 Shades of Gray or Harry Potter. But it's life-changing.

The scriptures tell us this in chapter 28: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Now, remember when you were at your lowest, when things were terrible, when the bottom appeared much closer than the top?

Connect these two thoughts: You're at your lowest. God's at His best. You're falling apart. God's moving to repair you, or make good of what you've made bad.

Feel the movement in the rest of the chapter, like a canoe down a swollen stream, quickly moving in and out of the critically important verses.

"What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" Wow. That's life-changing without much more to add.

And, "Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or treated with death?"

And, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." We win. It might look dark right now, but it will get light again.

And finally, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in earth below -- indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." No matter how much of the stupid stuff I do, no matter how much I disappoint him with my choices, it will not separate me from the love of God.

Chapter 8 is a fire drill dismissal of all the bad stuff in our lives. Now, nowhere in there does it say these things won't happen, or even continue to happen. No, what it says is that God will take all the bad stuff that happens and make it, turn it, to the good. That doesn't take away the pain, but it sure lessens it.

Sometimes that's hard to imagine or wrap our heads around, but let's take the most famous example of that, Jesus himself. Hanging from nails hammered into an old rugged cross, Jesus would have a hard time saying this can be good. But God takes this incident and saves all those who would come after  through it.

You could go on an on in scripture finding persons in the depth of physical pain or in the emotional equivalent, and yet God turns things to the good because He is, well, God.

Joseph takes being sold into slavery by his brothers -- his BROTHERS -- and God turns that into Joseph's being second in command of all of Egypt. That didn't mean Joseph wouldn't have to go through all the stuff. It meant God turned all of what he went through into an overall good.

David would go through some very difficult times, so much so that in Psalms 13 he writes, "O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?"

He's going through some difficult, some harsh, some awful things perhaps (even losing a child at one point), but by the the end of that Psalm, David writes, "But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me."

So, if you're going through some rough times, if the diagnosis is a bad one, if you're in danger of losing someone, if you're job is tanking and on and on and on, God is the hope you're leaning on. God causes everything to work together. Everything. All things. Till that wonderful moment when clarity comes and things are better.

Singer/songwriter Jason Gray says "fear is easy, love is hard."

Giving up is easy. Trusting that circumstances will change is hard. But it is the only way. Everything. All things. To the Good.

"O Lord, how long will you forget me?" ... becomes "all things to the good."

That's life. Lived well. To the end. Despite it all.