HOW GOD HELPS
US LIV E • HO
BY LISA ARNESON
M
know more than we can fathom, as Isaiah 55:9 tells us, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Wisdom is part of the essence of who God is. And the Bible says that God is good. Jesus declared, “No one is good except God alone” (Luke 18:19). Every human God created has sinned. Only God is without sin. He has no evil in him. Everything he does is right. He can only do good things. The psalmist declared, “For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). We see evidence of his goodness in the creation he made and in the plan he shaped to save us from our state of sinfulness. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change,” wrote James (1:17).
y husband recently officiated at a funeral for a 98-year-old woman. It was a full church, and half the attendees were her family—a beautiful testimony to a life well lived following Jesus and serving her family and others. About five years ago, he officiated at the funeral of a young woman in her 30s from our church who was also our neighbor. Her six elementary-aged children standing around her casket saying goodbye to their momma is one of the saddest sights I’ve ever seen. A couple I know had been married for more than 50 years. But it was an unhappy When the world around us looks dire, unfair, or marriage. The wife was a faithful servant painful, we can trust God’s Word, which says that he is wise at church, but people would tell me that he and good in everything he does. It’s okay to ask God why would walk behind her and spit at her. difficult things happen, but we don’t always need to know My husband’s grandparents were blessed the answer to that question. We do, however, need to know with 60 years of marriage. They were just the one who knows the answer. He is wise, and he is good. humble farm folks, so kind to others. To this day, their grandchildren speak of the spiritual lessons they learned from conversations with their grandparents. Hopefully, we can all say that we’ve had times where we During times of both blessings and challenges, we have felt so thankful to God for how good he has been to us. need God’s wisdom. In Christ, we have access to his vast The showers of blessings are evident. God has granted us storehouses. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let the answers to our prayers. him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, But what about the times when life takes a turn that you and it will be given him.” Don’t neglect the phrase, “Let him didn’t expect? Perhaps you are in a difficult marriage or have ask of God.” We actually need to ask for wisdom! experienced deep loss. Your feelings of grief, worry, or anger Experiencing blessings and challenges gives us the preoccupy you. Or maybe physical pain reminds you that opportunity to “walk by the Spirit, and you will not God didn’t grant you your heart’s desire. carry out the desire of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). There Is God—who was so good to give good gifts to you and is surrender in trusting a wise and good God. In that so wise to answer your prayers just the way you had asked— surrender, we can let the Holy Spirit guide us, speak to us, still good when he watches, allows, or directs the steps in and show us our sin. The result of walking by the Spirit is our lives that bring sadness, distress, and grief? a life that produces the fruit of the Spirit, which “is love, Here’s what we need to remember during those times: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Our world might turn upside down in a day, but God never gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). changes. The familiar verse in Hebrews 13:8 reminds us Let’s praise him today because he is wise and good. that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” Arneson is a member of Amery Free Lutheran, Amery, Wis. And the Bible says that God is wise. “Oh, the depth Artwork: Design for a window in St. Martin’s Cathedral of of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How Utrecht, by Richard Holst, 1934, Rijksmuseum. unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’” (Romans 11:33–34). God didn’t gain wisdom through trial and error like humans. He created this world and all that is in it, and he is able to comprehend and
Januar y 2024
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