In All Things God Works for our Good!

 "And this we know: in the journey of life, whether green rolling hills or the desert bare and dry, in all things, God works for our good: for those who love the Lord!" "I will wait on You, Lord, for my hope is in Your Word! More than watchmen wait for morn', I will wait for You, my Lord! I will wait for You, my Lord!" These two songs have been running and running through my mind lately, and they, along with so many other great songs, are packed with meaning and truth! The first song begins with "this we know..." This phrase alone has a load of meaning. Because of the fact that what we "know" is truth, we can say confidently that "we KNOW" that this is true. We know that God's Word never changes, and we know that He is good! The next phrase, "whether green rolling hills or the deserts bare and dry..." is very important as well. No matter if we are going through good times or bad times, through joy or sorrow, through victory or defeat, we can KNOW that God is good and that He works things for our good! This next phrase gets me every time. "In all things, God works for our good!" Wow! This is an incredible statement of faith! But what does it mean that in all things, God works for our good? Romans 8:28 says that "all things work together for good" for those who love God. But the things that come into our lives don't seem good! In fact, they seem bad! So where is the good? The good comes in the fact that this verse doesn't say that God makes everything to BE good, but He works everything together for good. In other words, the circumstances in our lives are bringing about good rather than being "good" themselves. The end result of those circumstances is our good because, if we allow them to, they will change us and make us more like Christ! That is such a comfort! Wow! That song has a lot of good truths! The second song is more of a prayer rather than simply stating truth. This song is a prayer from David's Psalm 130. This is a prayer to God acknowledging that He is in control. David is saying that because his hope is not in this world and not in himself, but in God's Word, he can wait on the Lord's timing. God's timing is always perfect! The allusion of watchmen was to older times when they would have watchmen guarding castles and important places. The watchmen on the night-watch had a much harder time than the daytime watchmen because at night it is harder to see. So the watchmen on the night-watch would sit or walk and very confidently await the morning light. This was a very expectant hope and watch. It is an eager watch of patience. Our waiting on the Lord should be even more than that! We should be watching so eagerly and intently for God's timing, knowing that His timing is best! These two songs have been such a challenge to me lately, and I hope they can be a challenge to you all as well!


~ Stephanie ~ 
    *Phil. 3:13-14*