“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)
“You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing.” (Genesis 50:20 CEV)
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13 NKJV)
There are two sides of Mystery:
- Side one is exposed when I do not comprehend the how, when, or why of something. When I am standing on the Word in faith and obedience and things don’t turn out as I expect them to. These are the times when my belief in the absolute goodness of God, and my confidence in the fact that He wants only the best for me, get me through. These are also the times when Satan will do his best to steal the Word from my life by planting seeds of doubt and deception. He will tempt me to question what I believe about the Lord’s will, and doubt His goodness.
- The second side exposes the Lord’s hidden treasures. This is one of the most exciting aspects of Kingdom living. Satan tries to deceive me and get me to think God is holding things back and hiding things from me. When in reality, it is just the opposite. He is hiding things for me. He wants me to experience the thrill of discovery as I dig up His treasures. It is like I am playing hide and seek with my Heavenly Father in Faith’s Treasure-House.
Today we are going to look at side number one.
If God’s Will happened automatically in this fallen world, every prayer was answered immediately in the way I desired, and nothing ever went wrong, then the Bible wouldn’t have verses like the one’s printed above. The fact that “all things work together for good” tells me that on this side of Heaven not all things are going to be good. If no one, or nothing, was ever going to try to harm me, then God wouldn’t need to turn what was meant for harm into good in my life. If there was no devil trying to kill, steal, or destroy in my life, then I wouldn’t need to take up the whole armor and stand. I have learned that sometimes things happen, or don’t happen, that I simply don’t understand (mystery). This is when I need to stand firm in what I believe, trust God, and not give in to the flesh or Satan.
Remember, it is impossible to please God without faith. And times of Mystery take all of the faith I can muster. Also, I can’t stress it enough, it is NOT God’s Will that is unclear. It is the gap that occurs when God’s Will does not manifest in the situation or circumstance, and I simply do not know why (and may not this side of the grave). This is when with childlike faith I just hold on to my Heavenly Father and trust in His Word.
One of the best opportunities to practice faith is when things are a mystery. I have learned to embrace…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 59: “Living in the Land of ‘Mystery’ (Faith’s Treasure-House) and ‘Impossible’ (Faith’s Playground).” Part 6: The two sides of Mystery.