Seeing God In Every Circumstance

Throughout history people have always proven themselves to be masterful at creating. Art, music, sculpting, architecture, engineering and inventing. It is amazing at what we are capable of creating.

But even with all the incredible and amazing things that humans have created, there are other creations that go vastly beyond ours in beauty, majesty and awe.

Think about Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, or Maroon Bells; just a few examples of the majestic creations of God, but any one of them vastly outweighs any human creation.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.”

Proverbs 3:19 “By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.”

God didn’t create flippantly or without consideration. He created with utmost wisdom and understanding. He established the universe. People have created amazing and beautiful things but God’s creation goes far beyond anything we could ever imagine.

God Our Creator

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

The Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1:1 is “Elohim.” Elohim translated is God our Creator and Judge.

To create is to bring something into existence. God, created the heavens and the earth. They have not always been. In a flash of absolute beauty and power, God created them. God brought the Heavens into existence.

On the other side of the coin, Elohim means to be judge. A judge is one who can give an authoritative opinion; to be able to form a conclusion through the careful weighing of evidence and testing. We understand this when we say someone has good judgement. They are able to carefully weigh evidence to come away with a proper and correct assessment of reality.

The Hebrew word Elohim means that God is both Creator and Judge. God holds the ultimate authoritative opinion on creation and His conclusion about what is best for creation is unquestionable and irrefutable.

Why is this so important for us to understand? When you create something, you care about it.

God is the ultimate creator. And this same God that created the heavens and the earth created you. And He cares about you. In fact, God cares so much about you that He didn’t just create you and walk away to let you fend for yourself. God created you with an intentional and impactful purpose, He has given you His word as a roadmap, and His spirit as a constant helper. He is always at work in your life and is always going to work through your life when you walk in obedience and dedication to Him.

3 Aspects of God’s Creation

1. God Creates Good

“Good” is used 7 times in Genesis chapter 1 to describe God’s creation. God’s original design was good. It was pleasing and perfect. But we all know that this world is not perfect. And in the midst of our suffering we begin to complain and question God about whether He truly is perfect and creates perfectly, especially when we can see challenges and pain here on earth.

God is perfect and God is good. And God is also love. He is the very definition of love. And when God created the world, He knew that love could never be a forced decision. Love always has been and always will be a decision made out of our free will.

But because love must be a choice, the option to not love also must be a choice. And when man chooses not to love, when man chooses selfishness and bitterness over love, evil, suffering and hurt entered our world.

And now we live in a broken world. A world with a lot of hurt and pain. But not a world without hope. God creates good from the most depraved and desolate of situations. God can take actions of evil and bitterness, or even a natural disaster, and can bring good out of that.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

This verse is one of God’s great promises in the Bible. It’s also one of the most misunderstood.

Notice the words “We know.” In other words, we’re not guessing, we’re not hoping, we’re not wishing, we’re not desiring. We know for certain. We can be confident. We can stake our lives on it.

What do we know? “We know God causes …” That means your life is not an accident. But that there is a grand design behind everything.

“We know that God causes all things to work together for the good …” It doesn’t say all things are good. But that God can bring good out of all things, good or bad.

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the most torturous and inhuman death ever recorded in human history. They tortured him, spit on him, beat him to the point of being unrecognizable, and then they crucified him. Nailing Him to a cross with stakes through His hands and feet.

Forcing Him to push himself up with all his weight on the stake driven through his feet just so He could get a breath. Just so He could say, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” The death of God’s Son was an act of evil.

But out of that act of evil, came salvation.

We often misunderstand and mislabel what is good. We desire our lives to be good but often settle for far less than what God wants to give.

We also see at the end of Romans 8:28, “for the good of those who love Him…” God does work good out of all things, and He does it for those who have recognized that God knows best and have commit their lives to God’s direction.

Proverbs 16:2 “Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; but God probes for what is good.”

Just because something looks good or feels good in the moment doesn’t always mean that it is good for us. God, however, probes deep into our hearts. Like a father who loves his child, God knows what is good for us.

Are you willing to give God the broken pieces? Turn to God and say, “God, I love you, and I believe you can use the mess in my life for something good. Please take the pieces of my life and put them back together.”

Notice at the end of Romans 8:28, “for the good of those who love Him…” God does work good out of all things, and He does it for those who have recognized that God knows best and have commit their lives to His direction.

2. God Creates New

Not only does God create good, He also creates new. God does not provide for us today with yesterday’s leftovers. Where in your life do you feel like you’re living on yesterday’s faith? Or last month’s or last year’s? What needs to be new in your life?

New hope to trust and rely on God.

New strength to endure.

New perspective to see God at work.

Isaiah 43:19 “I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.”

When God spoke these words to His people, they were living in captivity. They were in bondage. God is speaking to encourage them. And on one level He is telling His people I am going to make a way for you to travel back to your home. Back to Israel. Freed from human bondage. But on an entire different level He is speaking about the coming of Jesus Christ to free them from the bondage of sin.

And he tells them, I am already doing it. It’s already happening. And I’m doing it in a way that’s never been done before.

It’s like God is saying don’t let your lack of imagination keep you from believing that I can do the impossible. Because I specialize in the impossible.

When you feel there is no way you can have any more hope, when you feel your strength is all but gone, and when you feel you can no longer see God at work, remember God specializes in the impossible. And it is already happening. Just ask God to help you recognize it.

Does that mean God will do exactly what we want? Not always, because God is also creating what is “good.” And what we want the way we want it might not be what is good for us. But God is always at work in our lives creating new.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.”

3. God Creates Restoration

Renovation is the process of bringing something back to the original intention of the creator. Sin and its consequences in our lives have distracted us and pulled us away from God’s original design. We were masterfully created and designed with grand plans, but then we’ve gone our own way, independent of the way God intended, and begin to wonder why it’s not working the way it’s ‘supposed to.’

The bible is full of men and women that needed restoration. In the Psalms alone the theme of being restored is mentioned at least 24 times.

Psalm 71:20 “You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.”

Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”

Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

Where do you need restoration today? Your personal life? Your marriage? Your relationship with your children or your parents? Maybe even your salvation?

God is in the business of restoration. He desires to make your life full of meaning and purpose. To make your marriage unified and fulfilling. To heal wounded relationships. To bring His power into your potential so that you can experience the fullness of His glory for His glory.

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”

Out With The Old, In With The New

Romans 5:3-4 “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.”

Every restoration process begins with a demolition day. We shouldn’t be disheartened through the trial of stripping out the old in our lives so that God’s work can be made good, new, and whole in our lives.

We can choose to rejoice amidst the trials, knowing that God brings good out of them. We can choose to patiently trust God as He develops our character, preparing us for abundantly more than we could ever dream up. We can choose to place our hope and confidence in our God, creator and judge, knowing that what He has in store is the fullness of Christ in our life to bring amazing glory and honor to His kingdom!

Reflection Questions

1. What are some ways God is using my current circumstances for good?
2. What are some areas in my life that I need God to begin a restoration process?

Application Questions

1. What is 1 thing I will do this week to grow in my understanding of God’s work in my life?
2. What is 1 area I will repent of and allow God to begin restoring?

Prayer

God, thank you for being a good Father. For knowing what is good for us. For restoring us and creating new in our lives. I pray for those in this room this morning that are hurting, for those that need hope, that need strength, that need to know You. I pray that they will reach out to You and let You into their hearts and into their lives. Create in us a new heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us. In Jesus name, Amen.