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“And we know that all things…”
I have said to a few people that, I want to ensure that I end up in heaven at all cost because I need some answers from God.
There are so many things that do not make sense the way they happen and to the people those things happen to. One of the most popular verses in scripture is Romans 8:28 which says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to those who are called, according to his purpose.”
This scripture verse is often quoted and those who quote it do so with excitement in anticipation of good things that they are going to receive through faith in God. Instead of our Pastors teaching people that indeed this word is true and let them also understand that there is more to it, they often do not.
The all things in that verse is the crux of the verse that should not be glossed over. Some people are of the erroneous impression that when you become a Christian, all your problems disappear, which is clearly a misconception.
The Bible says in Psalm 34:19 that many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord shall deliver him from all of them. This clearly is an admission that coming to accept Jesus does not insulate the believer from challenges contrary to what is generally expected.
For instance, how do you explain a lady who had not engaged in promiscuous lifestyle, in fact a virgin and yet is having challenges in conception after marriage? What is good about a lady who got married and within a couple of months, becomes a widow as happened to one of the ladies whose spouses were involved in the recent helicopter disaster?
Again how do you reconcile the fact that one of the victims of the helicopter disaster, was an only child and therefore the question of who was going to bury the mother with the nature of a good God?
I cannot forget a colleague who had to bury his son who was in medical school at KNUST a couple of weeks ago and you cannot help but wonder if the word of God is really true.
There are indeed issues that can really shatter your faith and trust in the existence of God. Certain events can cause you to ask so many questions. You begin to wonder, “Have I wronged God?”, “Is it the doing of the Devil?”, “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” And on and on and on. That is when you realise that, the all things in Romans 8:28, indeed is very loaded.
The preacher men and women, have a huge responsibility in making sure that they teach their congregation, what the true Christian walk with God entails. They should stop painting a very rosy picture of life in Christ so that when the wild wind blows, their anchor will remain firm and unshakable because it is well grounded. Christianity is no tea party.
It could be both joyous and sorrowful but what we have been assured of is that, all put together, the purposes of God for our lives shall be fulfilled.
A man told me of how a friend who has lost one of his legs due to a medical condition sometimes feel like taking his own life. I recall a Pastor who was childless and his brother decided to give him his little boy to raise to bring some joy in his home.
He was preaching from the pulpit when a note was passed to him that the child had fallen into a well, at his home and drowned. Just place yourself in his shoes for a moment and imagine how he was going to break this sad news to his brother. It reminds me of when I had to break the sad news of the passing of my wife to my daughter, who was outside Accra at the time and was asked to come home so I could tell her. Whatever happens, say to yourself, it is well. God bless.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah