How are you doing, church? You keeping it together? I have been praying for you during this time. The Fus family has been doing well, all things considered. We have certainly had to make some adjustments, like you, to a new way of doing things, but we have also seen God move and work as a result of, and through, those adjustments.
One of the verses that we have used, and that I hear often is Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” I’m sure most of you know that verse and have even quoted it during times of struggle. I know I have. And recently. But let me ask you this; do you believe it? Do you believe that God has worked ALL things in your life together for good? Do you believe He is using this time for good in your life? Or is it just a verse we quote with no real faith behind it?
If you truly believe this verse, then I contend this; we do not HAVE to go through this, we GET to go through this. Like I said last week, it is easy to focus on the downside of all that this virus has brought to our lives. On that note, I Can. Not. WAIT. to be back with you in service. Anyway, moving on. If we take Romans 8:28 literally, then I would contend that what we are experiencing is for our good. And moreover, we have to look at it from that perspective.
I cannot remember where and from whom I heard Romans 8:28 described like this, but I love the analogy and explanation. “And we know that ALL things work together for good…. All things meaning all the “things" (experiences) of our life. Think of it like a cake. I am by no means a chef or a cook. Mac N Cheese is a specialty of mine. Mix in some sliced up boiled hot dogs, covered in ketchup, and I have created a masterpiece. HA! So, back to the cake. When we are making a cake, there are multiple ingredients that are required to produce a final product. Let’s say we want to make a chocolate, chocolate chip, covered in chocolate, cake. We need flour, water, chocolate, chocolate chips, and so on. Now, some of these ingredients taste great on their own, but some of them are horrible by themselves. Put a spoonful of flour in your mouth and let me know how it goes. We take all of these ingredients and mix them together, put them into a pan, throw it in the oven for a while, and before we know it, we have this awesome tasting chocolate, chocolate chip, covered in chocolate, cake.
So it is with all the ingredients (experiences) of our lives. Some will be awesome and exciting, and some experiences will be downright horrible. But if we lean into Romans 8:28, ALL things work together, all the experiences of our lives, work together for GOOD.
So, let me ask you: are you focused on the “mouth full of flour” that the coronavirus is, or are you focused on the “cake”? This time of the trying and testing of our faith is an ingredient that is required in working all things together for our good. I’m not saying that it’s not hard and we shouldn’t act like it isn’t, but if our focus is on the “ingredients” and not the “cake”, we will miss what God is wanting to do in us and through us. “ALL things work together for good to them that love God”.
Love you and praying for you, church!
See ya soon!
Tim Fus
Pastor of Worship Ministries