Our pastor asked the question yesterday, What would it be like if we believed that God was as good as He says He is? What would change? How would your life be different?
Think about that for a moment. It’s not a simple question. The possibilities for a better life are endless. Why? Because instead of believing that your life is random and that bad things happen to good people with nothing resembling “everything happens for a reason”, you can know that someone is always there, watching over your life with only good intentions, never bad. That your life has purpose and meaning. That the experiences you go through, whether negative or positive, are all designed to shape you into the best possible version. In other words, nothing is random.
Contrary to what many believe, God is not responsible for the evil in this world. God does not wish evil on any one of us. God gave us free will and free will means we can make our own choices and decisions. We act on what we believe to be true, some of us coming from a very bad place. As humans we create the circumstances we live in by our actions which start with our thoughts preceded by our beliefs. When we think negative thoughts, we behave accordingly and then must live in the circumstances which result. We are always living in the consequences of either our choices or someone else’s, sometimes both.
How would your life change if you knew that God was truly as good as He says He is? What if you knew everything in your life was working toward your good as a faithful follower of Christ? Believe it because it is true.
Why is it difficult for us to believe that? Because as humans we have a tendency to choose negative thoughts over positive. To be quick to see the dark side of things rather than the bright side. Human nature? I think so. How do we change that? By changing our self talk. Instead of accepting the negative thought that comes naturally into your mind, chase it away and replace it with a positive one. I have done this. It works. And it makes your life experiences and even your day to day journey so much better. Take the first step toward living a fuller life.
God is as good as He says He is. Now go live your life as if that’s obvious. God bless.