Do You Know What's Good For You?

Do You Know What’s Good For You?

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.

Romans 8:28

So What do you know?

Some say that information is power. Some say that it is not what you know but who you know. Some even say that all information is good information because even if you know the wrong information, you get to choose what you should follow. All of this points to one thing – if you don’t know something in a timely manner this will result in serious trouble. A person who is unaware of impending danger is subject to discovering too late that the danger could have been avoided. Then on the other hand, when the person learns something but it is too late to change, that too can be heart breaking. I would suggest that everyone would heed such things as annual health reviews to make sure that your body is functioning properly. If you don’t have a primary healthcare provider, you certainly need to check into it. I would suggest that you have an annual review of your finances. It makes good sense to seek help from a qualified financial advisor. They might be able to help you manage your resources in a way that provides long-term benefits. Why? Because there are certain things that you must know about your health and your finances.

Another suggestion is that you review your spiritual life, not annually but at least daily. Why? Because you need to make sure that you are on the correct path with your spiritual life. It is easy to assume that because good things are happening that everything is good in your life. The rich man, known in the Greek as Dives, also made that assumption, but the Bible declares “he faired sumptuously every day” and then one day, “he lifted up his eyes in hell being in torment.” While it looked like Lazarus had nothing, he had some spiritual benefits that did not cash in until death. You might say that Lazarus had a policy paid up by the Grace of God, while the Dives (rich man) depended on his wealth to secure him eternal rest. His spiritual plan did not work. By the way, we think that Lazarus was the beggar and the rich man did not. I suggest you check the story and find out that Dives begged but it was too late. See Luke 16. For that reason, you need to know certain things.

So, what do you know? Is your information going to meet all the needs of your life or simply give you a “pretty good idea” that things will work out? The Apostle Paul makes it clear that we can know, not “have a pretty good idea.” 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. There are a couple of bold statements included at this level of knowing. We know that all things will work out for good. Second, we know that those who love God are called according to God’s purpose. It is impossible for this level of knowledge to be obtained by human means. It is far too extreme. Humans cannot know all things and yet that is the claim of the Apostle. The other extreme is that those who love God can depend on God’s purpose to be worked out in their life. Human minds cannot think at that level. Therefore, what Paul is referring to is a life that is guided by the Holy Spirit.

When your life and mine, are guided by the Holy Spirit we can then rest assured that we will know everything that God wants us to know. So, I ask the question at this point, do you know what is good for you? Rather than taking a “leap” into the knowledge that comes through the Holy Spirit, let us first start with the limitations of human wisdom and earthly knowledge. That seems to be our biggest problem anyway.

3 Problems with Human Wisdom

Yes, our human wisdom is limited. Only a fool would think otherwise. Yet, if we admit our limitations, it could provide us with greater access to God’s Wisdom. From the negative side of human wisdom, we see the elements of distractions, deception, and disobedience as factors that can hinder us from following what is right. Distractions are at every turn and life and we consider them to be “alternatives” or other ways of looking at life. Whoever told us that life has that many options? Remember, some information is time sensitive; if you don’t apply it and follow the right path you may not get a second chance to do things over. That’s probably what happened to our friend Dives. He got distracted by his wealth and thought it had him covered for every event. Well, evidently he had not considered the death event. Distractions can very quickly divert us from what is important to something that holds our attention.

The second element that can get us on the path of wrong information is deception. We might call it trickery, a scam, getting conned, or something else, but this element of deception involves an agent who delivers the false information as if it were true. Jesus warned us that in the last days people will be deceived. Some deceivers even make false claims that they are “Christ” and can usually follow that claim with false signs and wonders that would misguide the very elect if that were possible. The trickery seems legit but it fails to deliver the truth. One of the quick ways to discern if something is deception or not is to ask the question – what is this asking of me? If the deception is asking you to give something that God has already provided for – then rest assured it is false. In some cases, it may not be that easy. When that happens, pray to God for the right answer and don’t commit to anything until God directs you. Remember, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all Truth according to John 16:13.

Our limitations can be due to the third element of human wisdom; that happens when we disobey God’s Word. All disobedience is due to disagreement with God’s Word. Please remember, the way we think is not the way that God thinks. God’s thought level is much, much higher than our thoughts; His ways are much, much higher than our ways. While we might think that disobedience stems from outright rebellion, it can take the more subtle form of disagreeing with God. Peter, who earlier confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, later disagreed when Jesus began to speak of His suffering and death. (Matthew 16). Our subtle disagreements with God also come as a result of hardships and trials that we face. Our truth does not align with God’s Truth and subsequently we veer off course from God’s Will.

So what do we do to avoid the distractions, deceptions, and disobedience? You must reject the human wisdom and pray as our Lord Jesus prayed – “Father, not my will but Your Will be done.” Surrendering our will keeps us from falling into the traps of human wisdom and will quickly usher us onto the course that God has designed for us. This is why the Apostle Paul was so confident that God would work things out for good. He was confident that nothing would take God by surprise or would rise to the level of preventing God’s complete control over every situation. God is Almighty!

Act – if God shows you better, then do better.

So, What do you do with what you know? Isn’t it interesting that following the four Gospel is the Book of Acts. It was not what the Church talked about. It was not what the Church planned. The Church acted. All meetings and no actions equals a Church that cannot back up its claims. You must act on what God reveals. How do you act on the verse, 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 believe there are four things that we must do to see God’s Word in action. Acceptance, acknowledgement, application, and affirmation. I am beginning to take God’s Word in the same manner that I take medication. I have stopped arguing with my doctor over what medications are right for me. It makes no sense for me to argue with my primary care physician and then pay them at the same time. That makes no sense. I have stopped arguing with them and have simply accepted what they tell me.

Acceptance means you will take what God gives you. Acceptance means you will stop questioning God when different things come your way and start realizing that the things that come your way are a part of the all things work together. Some recipes require bitter herbs as well as sugar. If God wants to send some trials into my life then I must accept what He sends. You must accept the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

The other thing I do that applies to my medicine is that I acknowledge it. The medicine bottle has my name on it. It works the same way with God’s wisdom and plan for your life. Stop trying to figure out how many other people are going through what you are going through. Acknowledgement means you will claim what belongs to you. It means you will acknowledge that you need God. Acknowledge means that in all your ways, you will acknowledge Him. You will say, “Lord lead me.” You will say, “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation.” Acknowledgement means you will talk about God even when you don’t understand what He is doing. Acknowledgement means you will say “God is good” even when it does not feel good. That is your medicine and it will work so acknowledge it. You must acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s power at work.

The application is really a third phase that really means “keep taking it.” We all know that medicines have side effects. Right? Application means you must keep applying God’s Word even when you don’t see immediate results. Stay with the prescription. Just because you feel better doesn’t mean you should stop taking it. The word for the day is “Apply.” It is no good to go to Church and then not apply what you learn in Church. You are a child of God. Applying God’s Word is a lifelong pursuit. You cannot skip days, weeks, or months and then take the Word just to get through an issue. My doctor was very clear. She said, “you will have to take this medicine for the rest of your life if you want to live.” (As a side note, your belief in Christ does not mean that natural medicines are anti-faith. The same God that made you has also blessed man with the wisdom to create medications that are helpful to your body. I will warn you – don’t depend on man’s medication more than you depend on God.)

Then there is the fourth element if you really want to see God’s Word at work in your life. The affirmation means to confirm it. 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. It is easy to say, “all things work together for good to them that love God.” When you add the “we know that” it becomes a bit more challenging. The old Church believers would say, “I tried God for myself.” So what do I do? Every morning I get up, I take my medicine. Why not take your spiritual medicine from God. The medicine of God’s Word will heal your mind, body, and soul. Now that you know what is good for you – Accept it, Acknowledge it, Apply it, and Affirm it. If it is from God, its got to be good.