Tom Zimmer – PhotoBubba – tomzimmer.wordpress.com

Back in 2013, when I was starting this blog, I meticulously typed in all my previous moments into appropriately date posts on this blog going back to 2002. I thought 2002 was the start of my article writing at the time. As it turns out, I recently found another “moment” that i wrote in April 2000, which I have posted below. What I find interesting about this particular moment from over 24 years ago, is that my theology about living the Christian life has not changed. What I mean by that is that the life of each of us as a Christian is not supposed to be spent doing wonderful things for God. It is spent allowing God to do wonderful things through us. I highlighted the appropriate section below so you won’t miss it, but I hope you enjoy this post from the past! There is one little tiny part of my theology that has changed, and that is highlighted and explained near the end, if you get that far, enjoy!!

From April 2000: “All things work together for good to them that love God”, Romans 8:28. God said it, and I believe it. But, sometimes I find this a hard verse to accept, when I look at the world around me.
So much pain, suffering and evil. Often for Christians and non-Christians alike. Why does God have to allow so many seemingly “bad things to happen to good people”. Couldn’t God make it all work better? I mean, He is God, and He is Sovereign. If he doesn’t make bad things happens, why does he allow them to happen.
Does Satan sneak things past God, and surprise Him with all the painful suffering he inflicts on people. I don’t think so. God is all knowing, and He knows well in advance what Satan is planning, even before Satan does. So if God is all knowing, He must be permitting all of this to happen. Why would He do that? The answer of course is simple, though acceptance is much harder. As Romans says, “all things work together for good”. How can it be good for sickness and pain to happen to people, especially Christians. Well, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. I think there is an answer, though for those of us that want to be in control, it is a hard one to accept. God wants us to trust him. He wants me to believe that He is in control and that He will cause all things to work together for good for those of us that are Christians (Those that love Him. He wants me to loosen my grip on the things I can’t control, and trust in the only one that actually is in control. I don’t mind telling you that I have a hard time with this.
Does this mean that I need to work even harder at not controlling things. No, it is not my “works” that get God’s will done anyway. Does it mean I don’t have to do anything, God will just take care of it all, without my hands being involved. No, God has chosen us as his instruments. He uses us as his channel of grace to the world around us. So, I still have a part to play, and a work to do. It just isn’t my works, it is God’s works through me.
So why does God allow bad things to happen to “good” people? I think there are two reasons.
One, is that He wants us to rely on Him for our strength, as he pours out his Grace and Mercy through us to our fellow Christians. In other words, He doesn’t want us to be self reliant. And second, He wants us to be His channel of Grace and Mercy to non-Christians, so that they can see that there is an obvious difference between us. If we are going to be God’s light unto the world, then we need to be different. I can’t be different under my own control. (“I still have a sinful nature” – note: I no longer believe I have a sinful nature. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, He changed me completely. My nature is His nature, what I still struggle with is my “flesh”, which is well trained to sin and is not redeemed.), and without God’s intervention in my life, I would just follow what I know so well. So when I ask God what he wants me to do, and He replies “trust me”, He means just that. I need to wait, listen and respond as God prompts. Worry won’t get me anywhere. As I said, it sounds easy, but I have a hard time with this. Pray for me, and I will pray for you.
verisimilitude = the appearance of truth; the
quality of seeming to be true
bible = actual truth, there is no other!
In Christ,
Tom Zimmer