We live for a God who is perfect and good - all the time. This being so it behooves us to understand the true nature of God and not to allow false ideas regarding what is godliness to be assigned onto God's character.

I'm thinking of this as I contemplate a statement made to me recently. I was told a story about someone who dove into a pool of water only to hit their head on an underwater rock and be paralysed. It was suggested that God had made this person a paraplegic in order to turn their life around and have their life bring Him glory!

After I'd stopped shaking my head in disbelief, I wondered how anyone would consider it OK to paralize someone in order to bring them to heel!

I do know one reason people come up with such ideas. They think that since God can turn anything to good, as He says in Romans 8:28, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, then He will cause paralysis or disease or other trials to come into people's lives in order to convert them!

Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

The problems with this interpretation of Romans 8:28 is that it changes God's word where He says He will turn evil into good, and adds the false notion that God creates the evil condition Himself! Rather like a rogue Fireman who starts fires in buildings so that he will look good when he comes along later and puts out the flames!

People caught doing that would be put in jail! Yet somehow people are willing to think that God acts in this manner! God sets us the example of how to live!

Not only this we see that the scripture says that God turns all things to good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
It's not, for those who "don't" love Him and somehow because of the evil that He does to them, they decide to serve Him, rather than be amongst those who get bitter or commit suicide as a result of facing horrendous trials"!

When you see even a basic analysis of what these people believe you see it cannot reflect God's will and character!

Further, if we check back to verses 26 and 27 of Romans 8, we see that it's referring to people for whom the Holy Spirit is already interceding with groanings which cannot be uttered, or praying in tongues! So this "everything being turned to good" obviously does not apply to people who are not as yet following God!

Actually if some believe God is going around giving people diseases and/or injuring them profoundly in order to teach them lessons or lead them to Him, how can such persons pray for others to be healed. In their minds such prayers must be counter-productive and going against God's will!

Now when we look at the other side of the coin and see what the scriptures really tell us about how God teaches us, we see that God uses His word, the bible, our manual, to train us.

2Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be proficient, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.

It's God's word that equips us for every good work in order to glorify Him, not being a paraplegic! In terms of disease and physical damage, we like Jesus should be going around doing good and healing all those who are oppressed by the devil. Jesus sends us out just as the Father sent Him out. So His modus opperandi should be ours.

God can indeed turn anything Satan does or any mistake we have made, to good, but it's not appropriate to blame that starting point evil on Him.

God wants us well. That is God's will as shown in the bible.
God is good - all the time!!
Amen.


Best wishes for Grace and the Peace of Jesus.

Attlee.

Another thought....