They say some days you're gonna win,
They say some days you're gonna lose.
I tell you I got news for you
Your losin' all the time you never win
If you believe that's how it's gonna be I'd better put you down
Get off your tightrope up there, come down on
the ground, you gotta save me now,
You better turn around.
When I looked around, I was heading down.
Won't somebody throw me down a line.
'The Lord works in mysterious ways'!
Our Heavenly Father does not live in a box ( or a book ) of man's own making, nor does He dwell in any of our construction; He is our Creator, He works in & through His Creation ( and that means ALL of it ) how He chooses! He does not do things the way we think He should, He does not work how we please; He draws straight with crooked lines!
Johnny Cash, say what you will about him, was a servant of the Lord! You could say much the same about any music group from ELO to Metallica, from Beethoven to Tchaikovsky ( even Yanni and Zamfir ): yes, there are musical choices out there that some would say are better than others. Most would say that there are some groups out there that shouldn't even be listened to, like AC/DC or Ozzy Osbourne. 'That crap isn't music!' There may be better music choices out there, even better TV shows or movies, and to a large degree, they're right, most TV IS crap, not worth filling our heads with that drivel, and the lyrics in some rock songs ( especially, or even worse, 'rap' ) that would make any but the most hardened sailor blush!
Most times we are tempted to look at our situation and think, 'O woe is me!' The thing to do, of course, in such a situation, is to look at ( or better yet, talk to ) someone who's in a tougher situation ( there's always someone ) or who has a bigger hurdle to overcome; then you will usually come away with a different point of view, thinking, 'yeah, I guess I'm really not that bad off'! Everyone has something to deal with, whether it's simply unruly kids ( children, or some disease that screws with your biological make-up! Some of us just can't seem to keep from making bad choices, and then complain about the same results!
We often like to look at the ways of the 'world' and say, 'no, God wouldn't work like that', or even, as some religious zealots say, 'God won't ( or even, 'can't' ) use you unless you are fully surrendered to Him'! In the latter case, sure, one will not reap the greatest blessings of the Covenant if they're not fully surrendered to Him, but if we believe that God is sovereign over all, cannot He use the worst sinner to accomplish His Purposes, for His will to be done? I mean, for God's sake, look at the apostle Paul! Take the apostate Jews of the first century, for example; if they had not clamored for the death of the Son of God, do you think His Blood would have been shed for the sins of His People? ( okay, eventually, probably )
If we truly believe that this IS our Father's World, can we really say that it's beyond the realm of possibility ( probability, even ) that He uses even the wickedness of the wicked for His Own Purposes ( Will )?! 'That doesn't make it right'; one will very correctly say! Damn right, it doesn't make it right! Just like Nebuchadnezzar & Darius, all the way up to Antiochus Epiphanhes & the Caesars of Rome, the wicked always will pay the piper; sow wickedness, reap wickedness!
'Shit happens', right? Well, as far as we can tell, it sure as hell does! As Christians though, we believe, like the apostle Paul wrote, that 'all things work together for good to those who love God'; when it comes right down to it, we all believe that 'everything happens for a reason'! We may search for that reason till we're blue in the face, or we may just surrender ourselves and say 'que sera, sera', but we trust in our Heavenly Father to the point that we say, like His son before He suffered on the Cross, 'Your will be done'!
Most times we are tempted to look at our situation and think, 'O woe is me!' The thing to do, of course, in such a situation, is to look at ( or better yet, talk to ) someone who's in a tougher situation ( there's always someone ) or who has a bigger hurdle to overcome; then you will usually come away with a different point of view, thinking, 'yeah, I guess I'm really not that bad off'! Everyone has something to deal with, whether it's simply unruly kids ( children, or some disease that screws with your biological make-up! Some of us just can't seem to keep from making bad choices, and then complain about the same results!
We often like to look at the ways of the 'world' and say, 'no, God wouldn't work like that', or even, as some religious zealots say, 'God won't ( or even, 'can't' ) use you unless you are fully surrendered to Him'! In the latter case, sure, one will not reap the greatest blessings of the Covenant if they're not fully surrendered to Him, but if we believe that God is sovereign over all, cannot He use the worst sinner to accomplish His Purposes, for His will to be done? I mean, for God's sake, look at the apostle Paul! Take the apostate Jews of the first century, for example; if they had not clamored for the death of the Son of God, do you think His Blood would have been shed for the sins of His People? ( okay, eventually, probably )
If we truly believe that this IS our Father's World, can we really say that it's beyond the realm of possibility ( probability, even ) that He uses even the wickedness of the wicked for His Own Purposes ( Will )?! 'That doesn't make it right'; one will very correctly say! Damn right, it doesn't make it right! Just like Nebuchadnezzar & Darius, all the way up to Antiochus Epiphanhes & the Caesars of Rome, the wicked always will pay the piper; sow wickedness, reap wickedness!
'Shit happens', right? Well, as far as we can tell, it sure as hell does! As Christians though, we believe, like the apostle Paul wrote, that 'all things work together for good to those who love God'; when it comes right down to it, we all believe that 'everything happens for a reason'! We may search for that reason till we're blue in the face, or we may just surrender ourselves and say 'que sera, sera', but we trust in our Heavenly Father to the point that we say, like His son before He suffered on the Cross, 'Your will be done'!
I want to look you straight in the eye,
I want to tell you how I really feel,
I can feel the wheels turnin' round,
Won't somebody throw me down a line
The city streets are full of people going nowhere making time,
The change from night to day is really only hours
It's just along the line, can't you see the sign
When I closed my eyes, I was so surprised
Somebody had thrown me down the line--stopped me drownin'!
I want to tell you how I really feel,
I can feel the wheels turnin' round,
Won't somebody throw me down a line
The city streets are full of people going nowhere making time,
The change from night to day is really only hours
It's just along the line, can't you see the sign
When I closed my eyes, I was so surprised
Somebody had thrown me down the line--stopped me drownin'!
When we come to the point ( and we must ) where we totally surrender to His Will for our lives, no matter how macabre' and 'just not right' we may think it is, life becomes a lot easier; we're not beating our head against a brick wall or kicking against the pricks of the world! If we will do what's right, no matter how crooked the results look to us, and love as we are loved, and letting those live that we think, in our haughtiness, deserve to die ( and doubtless, there ARE those who deserve to die ), then the world might, just might be a better place; peace, as far as it lies in us, would abound, and we would be blessed & be a blessing!
Amen, may it be!
Charles Haddon Shank
No comments:
Post a Comment