Safe or Good?

Aaahh, it's cold & raining outside, the perfect conditions to snuggle up with a new book (which I did buy yesterday! Beth Moore's new book called So Long Insecurity: You've Been a Bad Friend to Us! I'm sure I'll be blogging about it soon enough)! It's been on my list of things to do today, but it hasn't happened yet...oh well. But I did read an article today that contained a quote from one of my favorite childhood books, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe! It's officially the only C.S. Lewis book I've ever been able to read in its entirety! I would read & re-read that book constantly! This was before the movie was made, mind you, so I had to actually imagine what the characters & settings looked like...mind-boggling to my younger sisters! Here's the quote I read today:

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Who said anything about safe? 'Course He isn't safe. But He's good."

If you've read the book (or seen the movie) then you know the spiritual significance of the storyline. C.S. Lewis uses fictional characters & imagery to depict many aspects of the Christian life. I love this quote! It's so true about the God I serve. He's definitely not safe! Let me clarify what I mean by that. I read this week in the L3 in Acts about Stephen being stoned to death for his faith in God. STONED TO DEATH! Not exactly the kind of thing that makes you wanna scream, "Sign me up!" Bryant was writing a seminary paper earlier this week on Job and how he lost everything important in his life, including his own health. This is what happened as a result of following his God and being a faithful servant. Again, any takers?! I was in a conversation today with someone talking about the Baptist missionaries who are being held in a Haiti prison right now for trying to take orphans across the border into the Dominican Republic to get them some help. Now, I don't know the whole story about those people, but I seriously doubt they were trying to harm the children in any way. The media has done an amazing job of making these "Christians" look like lunatics! Imagine feeling like God is wanting you to go on a mission trip to Haiti, and then thinking you are doing what He wants you to do, and ending up in prison. "Really God? This is what You had in mind?! Prison?"

God isn't safe. This is a fact. But He is good. I must admit I don't know what God is doing in my life right now. I'm still thinking it's not really safe to quit a job before you have another one...but can I really trust that God is good? YES! I have to remember God's faithfulness in Scripture, and His faithfulness in my life in the past! He has never let me down. I always look back and say, "Yep, God. You did know what You were doing...Thank You for not doing things like I wanted them! That would have been a DISASTER!"

I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me! Psalm 13:6

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8

For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations! Psalm 100:5

Thanks Mr. Beaver. I needed to hear that today...