There is so much that amazes me about my God.
There’s so much for which he deserves our praise. So much that proclaims his glory.
One of the sweetest facts about him comes in the form of a beautiful, hope-filled, everlasting promise.
“In all things, God works for the good of those who love him.”
In. All. Things.
Just let that sink in for a moment.
This is a promise. Something that cannot be broken. Something that will always be. If you love God, no matter what happens in your life, what that life looks like, what ways you stumble and fall short; if you trust God and you really love him for all that he is, he can and he will bring good out of any situation.
Because in that goodness God’s glory is revealed.
And his character is proclaimed.
I’ve been working with a man this month, a man who was a soldier in Pol Pot’s armed resistance movement, the Khmer Rouge. The same group that caused the genocide of nearly one third of Cambodia’s population. They were executed in order that the population as a whole would be less educated and easier to control.
This man had done horrible things. To hundreds of people. Things he knew weren’t right, but things he did none-the-less. He followed orders and didn't think much about them. He did what he had to do…or so he thought.
Later in his life, he became addicted to alcohol and heroin as a means to cope with the things he had done; as a way to find sleep and attempt to forget his past.
When he thought of his life all he saw was hopelessness, pain and regret. He couldn’t see ‘good’ anywhere.
But then he found Christ,
and Christ changed his life.
This man is now a Pastor, married to a beautiful wife, and the father of 39 children.
Children whose parents left them, children who had been abused and neglected, children who wandered the streets, children who had no hope.
The place they now call home is Heart and Love Orphanage.
And it wouldn’t be here if this man’s past wasn’t his past.
God took a seemingly hopeless situation, a broken life, and he used that life to provide a home to dozens of needy, precious orphans. And he continues to use that life to spread his word to the orphanage’s surrounding villages. These children and everyone within this man’s vicinity knows the hope of Christ because of this man….
Because of this Pastor’s life, and the good God brought out of a hopeless situation.
When we rely on God, trust in him, put him first, he will always bring good.
We all come from different backgrounds, we’ve lived different lives, we fall short time and time again, we do things we shouldn’t do and say things we shouldn’t say, but that doesn’t mean it ends there.
It’s beautiful really.
We mess up.
He makes it worthwhile.
We mess up.
He brings beauty.
We mess up.
He guides, He fixes, He forgives, He grows, He redeems.
He brings healing where there was brokenness, wisdom where there was folly, grace where there were mistakes.
With each trouble, with every repentance, He brings us closer to him, and molds us nearer to his likeness.
This is good, and it brings him glory.
There is always hope. There is always a fresh start. There is always a new day.
And all of it is in Christ.
Will you seek Him?
