Does God redeem all things?
Do you ever wonder if any good can come from your circumstances? Maybe you think your life is so far off script there’s no hope. It’s easy to doubt when your prayers aren’t answered. Does God redeem all things? Yeah, He does, but it takes a lot of hard work.
Personally, I’d prefer to lay back in my recliner and sip a cup of coffee while the Lord redeems a few things. But that would never happen anyway, I’m a gulper not a sipper.
Besides, I don’t even own a recliner anymore. Mine tried to kill me. So if God’s going to redeem this, I wish He’d get on with it.
After I was diagnosed with a disabling disease, my recliner took on the shape of my rear end and my life took the shape of something unrecognizable. Some days I was too weak to sit up or hold my arms in my lap. Most days the keyboard kept me occupied and provided a place to dump what was going in my soul. Day after day, with fingers pecking and feet propped on the leg rest, my body formed the shape of the letter C. Now that my health has improved, yoga is restoring some of the damage to my low back and shoulders from poor posture. But yoga doesn’t help much with the scars of defeat written in ink.
Loud Prayers
Loud prayers and words of hope poured out from my recliner now lay like wounded soldiers on a battlefield. And my recliner? Well, I abandoned that for good. Seems like redemption is hard work and a recliner is no place for a warrior. And trust me, this is war.
God redeems all things. But does He redeem this? I know He does, but it sure would be nice if I could snug up under a blanket while He does all the work. But you see, redemption is not for the faint at heart.
Not the ending I wanted
I followed Lysa TerKeurst’s story closely.
“I was still committed to doing everything I could think of to make our story one of restoration, even in the face of the worst kind of betrayal imaginable. I prayed continually. I sought counsel from family and other wise friends. “
Lysa Terkhurst
Except, she and Art are “doing the hard work of reconciliation.” Well, since we’re not, I’m going to claim another truth she declared,
“Redemption is possible, even when reconciliation isn’t.
The work of redemption
So, I’m doing the hard work of redemption alone. Now don’t get me wrong, God is the One who redeems all things, but don’t think it can be accomplished from a place of comfort. It’s easy to cling to what was and what should have been, and never release our shattered dreams to the author and perfecter of our faith.
Redemption doesn’t happen in a place of comfort #Godredeemsallthings Click To Tweet
God says He redeems all things and I believe Him, but He requires me to go after it with all my strength. Taking every thought captive is a full-time job. Bitterness still tries to sneak in after-hours and bust down the door to my mind. Redemption is coming, but only if I exercise my faith muscles and trust God when He didn’t answer my prayers. Though redemption is hard work, I want it enough to ask for it and to fight for it. Do you?
God redeems all things, but only if we cooperate.
Well said. And brave of you to say it. Good for you friend. We do have to do our part; after all, it’s, “Seek yes first…” Kisses – never forget, the victory is yours.
Think I’ll write that on an index card, thanks
“Taking every thought captive is a full-time job.” ❤️❤️ I’m learning it’s not a once and done, which our culture prefers! Weekly even seems like a huge task, but DAILY! That’s where it’s at! All healing and restoration of our souls happens when we need Jesus as much as our cup of Coffee!! I confess!! I still think I need my coffee before I can even talk to Jesus in the morning! Yes I said that out loud! There are things that we (I) have learned from being in the trenches that I don’t think I would be aware of otherwise. So as bad as it hurts…I’m thankful for the rock bottom trenches! ❤️❤️ I love your thoughts!
Definitely not once and done! And I’m with you on the coffee too
Cooperation is the hardest part of opening up our wounds and our past failures bc we have to allow Him to come in and do surgery and remove those things that would try and hold us captive to bitterness, unforgiving thoughts and actions and defeat. Like any surgery that is invasive it takes time to heal and then there is the physical therapy that we must do in order to get strong and stay strong. You are such an inspiration to so many people bc that is exactly what you have done and are doing. Thank you for choosing to be strong and courageous in a very difficult situation. 💖
I love this analogy. You should guest blog!