The Grind
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NASB
Know – Well, we might know that God causes all things to work together for good, but it surely doesn’t feel that way, does it? Paul uses the Greek verb oida, not ginosko, and for good reason. If Paul used ginosko, then we would ask for the evidence to support his claim. We would ask to see the data, to understand the conclusions and to be convinced by the arguments. But that would be rather impossible, don’t you think? Where is the evidence that all things work together for good? Nowhere, as far as I can tell. When I survey the evidence, I see children under the bridge, dying from AIDS because their mothers have unprotected sex because they in turn have no money, no jobs and no other way to live. I see brutality, torture and horror killings because of “faith.” I see million upon millions of impoverished, struggling to eat in a world where 250 people have more financial assets than 250 billion of the poor. I see hatred, racial tension, bigotry, destruction of the planet, incalcitrance, rigidity and polarization. So tell me, “How does all this point to God’s bringing about the good?”
Ah, but Paul does not use the Greek verb for collecting evidence and drawing conclusions. He uses oida, a verb that focuses on an internal awareness that breeds confidence, a kind of psycho-emotional intuition that registers in the whole complexity of what it means to be human. He uses a verb that is closer to self-awareness than data analysis. In other words, Paul basically says that he has a convincing hope that God is working all things for good. It is a hope that he cannot reject because it is founded on the character and sovereignty of God—even if there is very little evidence to support it. For Paul, the good is the inevitable, incontestable outcome of who God is. It has very little to do with what is happening now.
But what Paul knows seems incredibly difficult for me. I might know this hope too, as theory, as theology, as eschatological desire, but I am still here, in the grind, and the grind is my reality even if I hope for something different someday. In recent conversations, I have noticed that the grind is getting more intense. Perhaps it is just a matter of age, but I’m noticing that more and more men are struggling with why they are even alive. The routine is no longer enough. Work to pay the bills, try to forget the struggle with work, work harder to get more so that you can forget again. The endless and pointless grind. And at a certain age, most men I know want out. Their dreams have long ago turned to memories. They have more past than future. They are tired, but there is no end in sight for the demand to perform. Slowly, ever so slowly, the grind is eating into their souls. They are becoming men without purpose, waiting for it to be over. Do they know that all things God works for good? I don’t think so. I think they want to believe it. I think they try to believe it. But in the end, life is grind and hope is a pipedream that cannot be reached. How come Paul was able to say, “We know”? That just might be life’s most important question right now.
Topical Index: know, oida, grind, ginosko, Romans 8:28
I am one who can testify (by faith, remember?) – Yes, all things (are consistently, constantly, consciously “working together” for the good of those who love God, and to those who (the) called (the ecclessia?) according to His purpose. It is so – amen.
But. (There always seems to be a “but!”), He has said, “In this world YOU will have tribulation.” Problems? I’ve got ’em, you’ve got ’em, Adam had ’em. Tribulation is an “in your face,” up close and personal “fact.” (Just the facts ma’am.) However, this is NOT the “end of the story!!”
What we need is “perspective.” Uh.. “not what I want, – but what He wants.. (remember?) And friends, was not the Captain of our (common) salvation “made perfect” by His sufferings? We (who are His) should not expect less as the servant is not above His Master!
God knows what He is doing!! ( I feel very small – even silly for saying this!) And this one thing I do know – (and I hope you do too!) God is good!! – All the time – (and?) – to everyone! Friends, “it rains upon the just and the unjust!” Why? It is because “the LORD IS good!!” (Therefore) – I will bless the LORD (when?) – when life gives me everything my little ol’ heart desires? NO! – I will bless the LORD AT ALL TIMES!! In good times, in (seemingly) bad times- I can and will testify (no test – no testimony!) – The LORD is my Shepherd! (too!) and? – I shall not want!! God has been, is and will be “soooo good” to me!!
Salvation is an “event,” but friends “sanctification” is a process!
May this be our (common) prayer:
Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay
Mold me and make me after Thy will
While I am waiting yielded and still
Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Search me and try me Master today
Whiter than snow Lord wash me just now
As in Thy presence humbly I bow
Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Hold over my being absolute sway
Filled with Thy spirit till all can see
Christ only always living in me.
I have been reflecting on what makes up our belief systems (paradigms) for a while now, and the following is just where I am at today. I reserve the right to have it all wrong, however, so please feel free to correct me!
Perhaps no amount of data will ever be able to convince us because our reasoning is constrained by our experience; which is to say that perhaps our belief systems our informed more by our experience than what we think we choose to believe. I believe the filters that decide what is important enough to raise into consciousness must be based upon experience more than they are upon cognitive data. The amygdala – our main filter system – which is our interface with our consciousness and our emotions with our body response as well as what thoughts we allow our brains to think, is built upon the empirical evidence of experience and not on what we think we know.
My choices in life are based upon what I believe, but what I really believe is going to be based on what my experience has been (history), and not on what I think I have chosen to believe (so much for dogmas, creeds and doctrines as well as propaganda: until we have checked them out with experience, they are not really going to affect most of our choices). Our brains know (from experience, of course) that we can be fooled by cognitive data, and so it protects itself with a filter system that has been built upon experience, not information. This is why so many of our choices, I believe, do not actually match what we say we believe. But, I digress (sorry).
In fact, we are pretty much told point blank (at least the way I read the Good Book) that, post Tree, we are now LIMITED to experience as our way to learn. Cognitive data, such as is transferred by standard educational systems (and religious ones, too) can be memorized, but unless and until it has been made manifest by profound experience, the body (flesh) response to life is not going to match what we think we know or what we think we believe. Because of this, most people, I would dare say, do not know WHY they make the choices they do.
What do these ruminations have to do with Skip’s subject? We all start out in the flesh now. Which is to say all of us have to become convinced by experience. What do we have to become convinced of? What are we not born ‘naturally’ believing? I think we all suffer from an illusion that we can trust what our brains think (reason) and also that we can trust our fellow man. Pre-Tree, we would have that right, of course, but now, that is wrong. Trust can not be trusted until it has passed through the crucible of experience. Because the Law (what love is), as both Ezekiel and Paul tell us, is “written on their hearts” and “God has shown it to them” (Rom. 1:18), what people need to become convinced of is not what love is, but what SIN is. Until we experience it for ourselves, we are just not going to believe it. Experience is what teaches us, and sin has to be experienced before we will believe that it a: exists and b: is bad. We are cursed with consequences until we can become convinced. Apparently it takes a lot to convince us!
I know it sure took a lot to convince me!
Laurita, in reading your post I am reminded of one Paul (formerly known as Saul) who (shall we say) went through some “stuff!” This history (his story) is available for all to read and as for his “circumstances?”
~ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers… ~
And yet… This very same Paul (the one who went THROUGH these things) wrote these enduring words:
~ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our LORD ~
And again, let us review the question: “Who (or what) shall separate us from the love of Christ?” And the answer is?
Thank you again Laurita, !!!!!!!!!!!!
Performance – I used to run sales for a company before ministry. God has been working “performance” out of me. You’re only as good as the last deal you brought in – I found this same philosophy in the Church. The Lord actually used Man’s idea of “saving souls” (as if we control it) to deal with my fears around performance. Actually getting to the root cause, the trauma from my past. We don’t really realize how wanting people to “like us” is a sickness. I was teaching in the nursing home the other day about John 17. Can we really handle the fact that people are going to “hate us” if we follow Yeshua? It’s not easy.
“Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;
Inspite of his wealth, wisdom and favor the Preacher seems to have come to the same conclusion. Life is a grind, and the you die.
One grain of wisdom tells us to engage fully in all that you do, enjoy what ever fruit that you produce and by the way Adam, remember your God.
You are right Skip when you observe our souls going through the grinder of life. Maybe the giving up part is actually realizing the futility, while still remembering to “Shika Baba” (hold on to Daddy’s hand).
Shalom Skip,
I hear what you are writing, I don’t write much I just been reading and have been inspired by the daily word and thoughts that everyone adds here. Every since we lost our Daughter Aleda, things has slowly been changing. It’s going on 6 years in November. But when she passed my Dad’s health began to slip away, Dad stopped walking and as each year came due to vascular dementia it was a challenge to hold a conversion. Then we lost my brother, when He passed it was only Me and Dad at his side when they took my brother off of life support. Mom had cancer and was going through a series of chemo treatments. 6 months later after my brother passed Mom died of cancer and Dad just died a month ago. My first thoughts after Dad died was, what good is Hope, I lost our daughter, my brother, my mother and now my Dad. And then a small voice said this,
“Hope gave you the time to do and say what was needed to your love ones while they were here.”
I was on a schedule because we don’t live in the same towns. And my parents both had remarried so I had to divide my time. Mom came and stayed with us during most holidays, Dad couldn’t travel due to his circumstance so I would get my brother and we would spend time with Him. Death is something that we all must face. As I see it “All things do work for the good” It hurts, but I was able to laugh with Mom and Dad, and when Dad got to the point that he couldn’t speak I was still able to speak to him. Dad and I were close, He helped me in many ways through words that He spoke to me during some tough times. Those words are in me now, I will never let them go.
My Brother and Daughter both had special needs, so Dad knew exactly what to say as her conditions changed. I consider Aleda my Angle sent, because of Her I will never see life the same.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Although I don’t understand it, He is working in me Now….
Sounds like the opening of Ecclesiastes…
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?
The conclusion?
“…when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Hope against hope is simply having the end in mind during the present.
Not long ago there was discussion (either in TW or lecture) about Joseph not knowing the purpose of his life until the end, or even after…or Moses, or Abraham, or ….
Did Mary the mother of Yeshua have any clue about the purpose of trials in her life, or why God didn’t remove those awful Romans? For that matter, why on earth has God allowed the NT writings to be corrupted and mistaught? Must be for a heavenly purpose; humanly, it’s just craziness. Without the Constantine Church of the last 1700 years, would I have even had the opportunity to know of one true God?
Shalom Kenya,
Hope I’m following what you are saying, I really don’t see the NT as being corrupted but it has been mis-taught. That’s the purpose of this forum, to look at scripture from a different perspective. When it comes to Mary and having a clue about the purpose of trials, I’m sure a lot of us struggle there. As I mentioned, concerning our daughter she never, talked, never walked, had many seizers at times all day. We prayed constantly for healing, but things continued to progress till she could no longer hold on. I don’t understand why, but because of Her I do look at life from a different perspective. It’s going on 6 years since she passed, and My wife and I can now talk about things with out crying. We met a lot of people who has blessed us that are now apart of our life, some are nurses and doctors, some are parents who have children with special needs. When the nurses speak with my wife they constantly tell her that they have not met a mother like her. They deal with a lot of parents who have children similar to our daughter but they just haven’t found many that has my wifes perspective. I’m sure Mary was forever changed due to her trials and many of the other men and women that we read about.
It doesn’t have to be that way! I and many other people I know don’t feel that way. We are healthy, energized and full of joy experiencing the life and adventure YHWH designed us for. We are able to do this because we walk in His ways and started with His first command in the garden, Genesis 1:29. Would you rather live fallen man’s way or live in the kingdom of heaven where we are redeemed and restored as in the garden?
Remember, “It’s not about us”, which is seriously contrary to our very selfish world and my personal life. Living for others requires never ending sacrifice, which is “the lucky life”, again a contrary and often lonely and ever challenging existence.
Media report on our world enthusiastically devolving, with ridiculous behaviors, into needless political, financial, moral and spiritual CHAOS. Amid my required sacrifices, I have this duty to overcome this chaotic disfunction which results in my certain, constant, worldwide tension, unless I turn away from the goal. It is just overwhelming…
Of course, the beauty of it all is that this tension drives me to the reality of returning to God’s judgments and instructions, His sacrifice and the wonder of His love for often unfaithful Israel and those who love Him so imperfectly. Sure, I’m thankful for it all, although I constantly struggle for it to make sense in another, less painful way. It involves my constant war of dreams; my spirituality/American prosperity dream vs. God’s tough plan.
We are living the eternal reality series and each of us has a pivotal role… Will I make a difference or sit on the bench and numb my senses with innumerable cocktails of delusion. How will I perform in the light of my partnership with His amazing grace, forgiveness and His infinite strength?
Paul and Skip encourage us, as does God, the prophets, Moses and all of history. I am drowning in eternal significance and meaning, while complaining about my unmet worldly ambitions, while I am to function as His overcoming soldier, armed with truth amid opposition. How can He trust such a whiner (me) with His ambitions? Count it joy! (another challenge). I have to lean wholly on Him. Please forgive the length of the post.