We arrived home to 90 degree temperatures – inside. The a/c was out. We’d been on the road for 10 days and it was 9:30 at night. This definitely wasn’t in The Plan. Well, not my plan, which is clearly the best plan. So I was quick to be cranky (I was hot! and tired!), which is pretty much the same for me as opening the door to my enemy and welcoming him into my home.
Guess what my unwanted guest said as he stood at the door? If God loved you, this wouldn’t have happened.
Here’s what could have happened next. I could have invited my enemy and his lies right inside. I could have entertained him, offered him some lemonade and listened the stories he had to tell. But the thing is, every story he tells is a whopper, a tall-tale. A lie.
He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
So often we believe that God can do anything, but we just aren’t convinced that He will. I don’t mean in the sense that something will happen at a future time. No, I mean will in the sense of His desire and intention. We believe He could do something about our situation, our problem, our heartbreak, but He doesn’t want to. There’s a good that He could do, but He won’t do it for us.
It’s right back to the Garden. There’s Eve looking at the beautiful tree and its fruit thinking, This looks pretty good. There’s the serpent suggesting that God is holding out on her (Genesis 3:4-6). How can we keep falling for the same old lies?
In response, there’s the magnificent, generous love of God. It’s breathtaking in its scope – bigger, higher, deeper than we can really grasp (Ephesians 3:18-19). It’s painted in broad brushstrokes in Creation (Romans 1:20). It’s spelled out in fine detail at the Cross (Romans 5:8), where Jesus put Himself between us and our enemy so we wouldn’t have to listen to that tired, ancient lie that there’s a good God has but is unwilling to give.
Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Romans 8:32
If God didn’t hold back His own Son, what will He hold back? The answer is nothing. Let the truth of that sink in.
So here’s the question – what about the a/c going out? Or the unexpected car repair or the dog pooping in the house? What about the missed promotion or the call from the doctor or the broken relationship? What about all this Stuff? If God loved us, wouldn’t this Stuff not happen to us?
There’s a future day – a will happen – when those things will no longer happen. And every day we face trials and challenges, we look forward with greater longing to when there is no more of that Stuff. Every challenge asks – do you believe it? Do you believe that God is greater than all this stuff, that He has overcome every thing that tries to drag you down? Because God says in spite of all this Stuff, “we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us” (Romans 8:37 CEV).
Stuff is part of living in a fallen and broken world. But it’s not the whole story. It’s not the last word. More is coming. So shut the door in your enemy’s face. Don’t give him a minute of your time. Because you have won so much more than a victory. The King has already given you the rich, lavish, glorious fullness of His heart.