Do You Believe It?

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

The startling command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 bewilders even committed believers at times: “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” How do we give thanks in times of catastrophe? For what are we grateful when disaster strikes?

As foreign as it may seem, we give thanks to God in all things because His sovereign, loving power is able to weave our grief, sorrow, and pain into the fabric of His eternal plan for our lives. God does not cause evil, and neither is He conquered by it. His purpose for us cannot be thwarted by our problems. For that, we can give thanks in the midst of our adversity.

Margaret Clarkson wrote years ago in Grace Grows Best in Winter:
“The sovereignty of God is the one impregnable rock to which the suffering human heart must cling. The circumstances surrounding our lives are no accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our sovereign God. All evil is subject to Him, and evil cannot touch His children unless He permits it. God is the Lord of human history and of the personal history of every member of His redeemed family.”

“...no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” Job 42:2