9-7-26<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a phrase you hear in the Christian community these days \u2013 every generation seems to have its holy clich\u00e9s \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s a God thing.\u201d More than not, the trope is employed when something unfortunate is explained or excused as if to look for a silver lining. Or it is said on the other hand to describe a fortunate outcome, a happy coincidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a God thing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have always pushed back against this saying, especially when it is used as a meme: a sloppy catch-phrase that masquerades as an intentional thought. Oh, I realize that many things in life are<\/em> \u201cGod things,\u201d but\u2026 not everything. Good things\/God things. But some things are the devil\u2019s things. Satan adopts the disguise of an \u201cangel of light,\u201d we are told in Scripture. Especially in the End Times, the devil will \u201cdeceive the saints\u201d; that is, even believers will be fooled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Insurance companies call disasters \u201cActs of God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not only insurers who call floods and hurricanes \u201cacts of God.\u201d Many folks employ that label and, applying an illogical extension, analyze life\u2019s challenges and ask \u201cWhy do bad things happen to good people?\u201d If they are the same people who say \u201cIt\u2019s a God thing\u201d it actually suggests that they want to be God\u2019s boss \u2013 in the sense of defining His job description and deciding what is a \u201cbad\u201d thing and even judging who are \u201cgood\u201d people. God is sovereign \u2013 part of His actual<\/em> job description after all \u2013 and we must be careful when we assign what is, and what is not, a \u201cGod thing.\u201d And we should be even more careful not to call something His plan, His \u201cthing,\u201d only when it fulfills our own wish-list. We know what we want\u2026 but God knows what we need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lincoln said, It is not as important that God be on our side as that we be on God\u2019s side.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord Who counts every hair on the heads of His children also knows the thoughts that emanate below that hair, so to speak. \u201cFor My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways\u201d (Isaiah 55:8). The Bible overflows with nearly uncountable examples of trials, as men and women regard them\u2026 that were transformed into blessings. Of crises\u2026 that eventually led to triumphs. Of challenges\u2026 whose resolutions resulted in salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The thief on the cross turns to his side and acknowledges Jesus Who hangs next to him\u2026 and is told that \u201ctoday you will be with me in Paradise.\u201d Three men resisted bowing down to King Nebuchadnezzar\u2026 and survived the fiery furnace. The Book of Job is an account of his misery and hard luck (to put it mildly). The core of the book however is, especially in Chapter 38, a reminder of God\u2019s overarching wisdom and care for Job\u2026 and us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even Jesus\u2019s Disciples, who lived with the Savior for more than three years and witnessed supernal teaching and miracles, did not understand everything He said. \u201cAnd they understood none of these things\u2026 neither knew they the things which were spoken\u201d(Luke 18:34). Yet it was a \u201cGod thing\u201d that Jesus asked them to accept: His torture and death would not have been on their natural wish-list. Nor, likely, ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a cantata that was one of his most poignant. In the face of contemplation of death (it was a funeral piece) it was a profound musical sermon about trust in God. Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit<\/em> \u2013 God\u2019s Timing Is Always the Best Timing.<\/em> That is, we trust not only God\u2019s timing but the circumstances, the context, our expectations even in the face of prayer and earnest appeals. He acts; we do not dictate to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All \u201cGod things\u201d are His to decide, and our duty is to trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Forgive the tangent: why don\u2019t people call good things<\/em> \u201cActs of God\u201d? Like, when a hurricane doesn\u2019t hit; when you arrive somewhere without an accident? When you have not caught a virus? Scripture does tell us that God is a jealous God\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n