There is a story in the Old Testament that demonstrates faith during a time of great adversity. A woman was childless, and her husband was old. This couple befriended the prophet Elisha, taking care of him when he was in their town. As a way of repaying their kindness, Elisha blessed the woman by granting her and her husband to have a child.
Several years later, the boy became sick and died. The mother sent word to her husband to send her a donkey and a servant, for she needed to head for the prophet quickly and then return. Naturally, her husband was puzzled as to why the rush, and why that day, for he didn’t know his son had died. And so he asked her, “Why?” By faith, she answered him: “It will be all right,” and off she went. The end of her faith: Elisha came and brought the boy back to life.
There’s another story that demonstrates that same faith in God. A strong king had been secretly planning to attack the nation of Israel. But every time he planned an attack, the king of Israel found out about it and foiled his plans. Now the king decided there must be a traitor in the camp. But one of his advisors told him that there was no traitor. The problem was, he explained, the prophet Elisha: “He knows everything you are planning.”
The king decided to capture Elisha. He found out where he was, gathered a massive army, and surrounded the town where Elisha was staying. Early in the morning, Elisha’s servant went outside and saw that a mighty enemy army had them surrounded. The servant cried out to Elisha, “What are we going to do?” And basically, the prophet replied: “Don’t be afraid! For there are more on our side than on theirs. Everything is going to be alright.” And it was! God had surrounded the enemy’s army with His army of horses and fiery Chariots.
We now come forward to our day and the perilous, evil days in which we live. Daily we hear of wars and rumors of war, of violence all over the world, and the weather has become increasingly violent in every way.
We constantly read of men and women plotting wickedness against us, and the workings of the ravenous wolves in the church of God grow daily.
What are the children of God to think? What are we to do? Our answer must be one of faith and not sight: “Everything is all right!” If we know the truth of God’s word, it gives us that faith. What do we know?
“We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren” (Romans 8:28-29).
Here, we see by faith something the world can’t see. All that the world can see is the total chaos, violence, and the workings of evil, corrupt minds and hearts taking place in the world today. But the children of God have the Holy Spirit in them, and He gives us through God’s word, 20/20 vision. We know that the arch enemy of our souls intimidates, harasses, aggravates, and oppresses us; and in many countries, persecutes, imprisons, and kills God’s children; we know that.
But God’s children know this: “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, not height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
By faith, we can confidently say “Everything is all right” because we know that God, in love, “has predestined us to adoption as sons by Christ Jesus to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:5).
We know that God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of Jesus. What that means is simply this: that our Father in Heaven is God Almighty. He has plans for you and I; great plans; plans for our everlasting future in the ages to come. “He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20).
For every one of His children, our Father has the wisdom, spiritual understanding, love, and power to make ALL THINGS work together for the eternal good of them. God demonstrated this truth vividly when He gave up His only begotten Son to the horror of crucifixion. Because Jesus trusted in His Father’s love and set His heart on doing the Father’s will, Jesus Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand today as LORD of all!
Regardless of what the world, the flesh, and the devil may throw at us, we can confidently say: “Everything is all right!” That takes care of the outside of our life. But there is something else we know.
“It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).
On the outside, we know our Father is turning the enemy’s arrows into golden rods for us. But we also know that our Father, through the Holy Spirit, is working on the inside of us as well. For just as the enemy comes against us to destroy us without, we have an unseen enemy within—our flesh. And here’s what we need to know about our flesh:
“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway” (Romans 7:18).
God is working on the outside for the good of His children, but He is also working on the inside for our good, transforming our desires and giving us the power to live and walk as children in whom He is well pleased. Our Father never stops working in us. He is always at work to remove all that would defile the image of Christ; He is ever busy to mold and fashion us into His image. And so, in all our trials and tribulations, we know our Father is working for us and in us. How can everything not be all right? And so we may say:
“Outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).
To say “Everything is all right” means everything is all right between the Father and His children. By faith we know what our Father is faithfully doing. But then, what is my part in all this? Two words of exhortation to God’s children who know the truth:
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Trust God and obey Him, for there’s no other way.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus; let us fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
If we will pray always and not lose heart, if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and renew our minds daily in His word, we may assuredly say everything is all right.
Brother Bill Oldham