Using The Good And The Bad
When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. (Hosea 1:2-3)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
The last few days we’ve talked about how God colors outside of the lines in our lives, often asking us to do things that seem unconventional or unorthodox from our human perspective. But I believe God does this in order to show us that He can use both the good and bad in our lives for His glory.
The woman that Hosea is told to marry has a bad reputation in society. She stands for that which is unseemly. She stands for that which is unbecoming, and yet God takes a good, righteous man like Hosea and joins him with a woman with troubles.
The point of the passage is to show God’s capacity to take the good and the bad and make the best out of it. He constructs the plan for our lives using the bits and pieces, the scraps and the fragments that we offer Him, the good and the bad, and makes something great out of it. God’s will is not only found in the positive, it can also can be found in the negative and the unexpected as well.
Has something happened in your life recently that you’ve viewed as a negative circumstance? If so, what would it look like for you to reframe your situation and try to see what good God can do, or maybe already has done, with your less-than-ideal circumstances? He is more than capable of redeeming the bad parts of your life and using them for your ultimate good. So why not trust Him and ask Him to do just that?
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
The last few days we’ve talked about how God colors outside of the lines in our lives, often asking us to do things that seem unconventional or unorthodox from our human perspective. But I believe God does this in order to show us that He can use both the good and bad in our lives for His glory.
The woman that Hosea is told to marry has a bad reputation in society. She stands for that which is unseemly. She stands for that which is unbecoming, and yet God takes a good, righteous man like Hosea and joins him with a woman with troubles.
The point of the passage is to show God’s capacity to take the good and the bad and make the best out of it. He constructs the plan for our lives using the bits and pieces, the scraps and the fragments that we offer Him, the good and the bad, and makes something great out of it. God’s will is not only found in the positive, it can also can be found in the negative and the unexpected as well.
Has something happened in your life recently that you’ve viewed as a negative circumstance? If so, what would it look like for you to reframe your situation and try to see what good God can do, or maybe already has done, with your less-than-ideal circumstances? He is more than capable of redeeming the bad parts of your life and using them for your ultimate good. So why not trust Him and ask Him to do just that?
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February
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