Judge Correctly

Author and Minister Terry Cole Whitaker told the following story from Dan Millman, which demonstrates that we cannot judge things as being good or bad because we do not have access to all the information. "One day a man bought a stallion, and all of his friends said, "That's good." The next day the stallion ran away, and all of his friends said, "That's bad." Two weeks later the stallion returned with a herd of mares. His friends said, "That's good." The next day his son broke his shoulders when the stallion threw him off. The friends said, "That's bad." The next month war broke out. Because the boy was injured, he could not go to war. The friends said, "That's good."

The story could go on and on with people judging events as being good or bad when actually all the events are connected and have an impact on each other. How are we to react to any events that come our way? Looking at two Scriptures, we will observe how objectively we must see things and learn to judge any events occurring from a biblical standpoint:

• Psalms 139:16, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. NIV
  
• Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. NIV
  

With this perspective fully understood, we can then begin to allow a relaxed atmosphere to settle in our life. The key reason why stress is prevalent among many is due to an immediate reaction unnecessarily that leads to panic. Life always throws a curve ball and never a straight arrow. When we analyze the whole process of decision making and judgment of situations we are currently involved in, it is most likely that we tried very hard to assess the next course of action. Sad to say, but the expected result yields a different fruit.

There are three things that must be learned if you desire for God to be involved in every situation of your life i.e., His Word, His Way and His Will. I call this the three W's of Christian life. By familiarizing yourself with God's pattern set in the Scriptures, you will begin to discover your own situation and realize that God does not change His style in dealing with humanity as a whole. He has a set pattern but the most profound is this: He has a plan for you! Jeremiah 29:11 states, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)

It is of great comfort to know that the Creator God has a very special concern for every individual person in this planet. If you have watched Bruce Almighty, there was a scene where Bruce received the power to deal with people as he saw fit and one of those was answering prayers. He heard a lot of voices and tried very hard to develop a system to handle them but failed. Until he just decided to answer them all for them to stop. It was funny but I've realized how God is able to hear more than 6 billion in this planet with their prayers and answer them as see fit in accordance with His 3 W's.

He is the only one that could judge what is good, seems better and the best in our lives. Though bad things occur as we judge from our perspective is allowed but under God's wisdom, it is providential for the person's benefit. For people that trust God, we just need to allow Him full access to let His will be done and not our will. Remember that when we are at the end of our rope, God is always there. His enduring promise that we need to fall back when times are tough is this: "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5, NIV)

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