Pray for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
His Comments
Her Comments
Scripture:
Thoughts:
Tonya completed her devotion tonight and titled it, “Pray for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” I thought that was a great title! It left me thinking about Spaghetti Western’s, which led me to think about spaghetti (yum), but also the above three passages in Philippians and how we often move the goalpost to keep ourselves from feeling content.
I’ve been chewing on this topic for the past few weeks, wondering if it would make a good message or sermon. I was recently reminded of a time when I was younger that I thought, “When I grow up, I’m going to have this one thing and I’ll be all set!” Fast forward twenty, thirty, or even forty years later and I have realized I accomplished that one thing, yet I’m not “all set.” Until a few weeks ago, I had forgotten that moment from my past. It wasn’t until I was out mowing, listening to a lesson for class that the memory resurfaced. The lesson I was listening to was about God and theology, and my memory was about feeling content and feeling accomplished. Since then, I can’t stop thinking about how I tend to conflate contentment with accomplishment.
I understand accomplishment as more the feeling of having done work and reaching a goal or target outcome. Contentment, as I understand it, is more a state of mind or the state of one’s heart. Throughout the years, I’ve thought if I accomplish specific goals, I’ll be content, be happy. That contentment is always fleeting since it is tied to an accomplishment, or a work, that I do. Even if I accomplish that goal, being content is only temporary since there are other goals and other accomplishments to be had. Every time I reach a goal, I move the goalpost.
What I love about these passages in Philippians is the Apostle Paul is talking about feeling content, but not in his work, but in God’s. Paul has been wealthy, and he has been poor. He has been free and he has been imprisoned. He has had seasons of abundance and he has had nothing, yet he is saying throughout it all, he can be content. Contentment, true contentment, is not tied to a work Paul is doing, or an achievement Paul is accomplishing, it is tied to God and the completed work on the cross. Paul’s gratitude, his state of mind and his heart is tied to God, not his own works or unreachable finish line. Paul already has everything he needs, salvation.
I’ll end with this, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This is not Paul saying he can reach every goal he sets out to accomplish. It is Paul saying he can be content in every situation. Wherever the LORD is leading, Paul can be content because God is there with him. When we give our lives to Christ and accept His grace, we are adopted into His family and we can be content during seasons of abundance and seasons of drought, because the LORD says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
How often do you talk to God? When you do, do you trust that He will answer or validate your prayers, or do you end the prayer and immediately worry and try to manage the issues on your own? Personally, I talk to God all the time about the good, bad, and ugly of my life. However, more often than not, I will take back my problems and wallow in my worry. This is one of the things that I have been working on for a couple of years. I must make a conscious effort to trust in God’s timing and solutions.
Luckily, God gave me a wonderful husband who evens my crazy out. For example, last week, the water line from the well to the house burst. We had water bubbling from the ground. When I read Robert’s text, I prayed for help, and I immediately asked Robert if we would have enough money to solve the problem and if he knew how long it would take to fix. In true Robert fashion, he said, “God is good. I’m not really worried about it.”
I had to step back for a moment and change my way of thinking. In my mind, this was a major problem that had to cost us an arm and a leg! How could he be so calm? I admired his faith, and it helped me stay calm. I gave the problem to God, and as a result, we had water four days later, we did not go bankrupt, and I did not go crazy with worry. God sent us people to help in ways I did not consider.
This is just one of many examples in my life of how God has stepped in and helped me with my problems. God answers in ways that we do not expect, and it may not be in the time frame we would desire. The amazing thing is that this is what God wants us to do because He wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to lean on Him and trust in Him all the time. He wants to hear when we are happy and when we are in need. However, we need to learn to trust Him in all these seasons.
The Good: It can be easy to forget to thank God for the good things in our lives. This is especially true when the good things are the ones we have around us all the time. This can be health, family, good friends, a good church, jobs, shelter, food, and many other aspects of life that you have been particularly blessed with that others may not have. Many of us remember to thank God when our issues are solved but we should remember to thank Him daily.
In many cases, we just subconsciously trust that God is providing for us in these ways. We tend not to think about these blessings until they are in jeopardy. Remember, God wants to hear our appreciation. Also, remember that when things go sideways, it may just be because God knows how to bless your life in different ways. Trust, He knows what is best.
The Bad: This is a common reason we pray: when the world gets nasty, or our “good” things are at risk, we are often quick to turn to God. Not only are we the first to fervently pray for help, but we are also asked to pray for others in need. This is good. God wants this, and we need to trust that He will take care of our needs when we give them to Him.
Just remember that more than likely, our problems will be solved in ways we could never have predicted. We do need to take care of things, but we do not need to live our lives in fear and worry. Trust in His judgment.
The Ugly: Sometimes we are in trouble because we have stepped into personal sin. We caused the trouble we are facing. During these times, it is easy to be embarrassed and avoid talking to God. Remember that He sees everything. He knew what you were going to do before you were even tempted. Trust in His love and repent.
He will leave the 99 to bring you back to the fold. Do not run away from God in these times. It may not be pretty. In fact, the solution may get ugly, but God will help you through it.
In conclusion, trust in God for all things. Talk to God about all things. He wants to have a relationship with us, and we need to believe in Him.
Thoughts for this week:
- How often do you pray to God? Is it enough to feel the relationship grow?
- Do you trust in God’s plan in times of highs and lows?
God Bless.