{"id":4203,"date":"2012-05-30T16:04:44","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T16:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/karenspearszacharias\/?p=4203"},"modified":"2012-05-30T16:09:42","modified_gmt":"2012-05-30T16:09:42","slug":"up-to-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/karenspearszacharias\/2012\/05\/30\/up-to-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Up to Good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Artwork by Brandi Hurt Dayton <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>


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Ann Voskamp wrote a thoughtful piece about perspective. <\/a> In it she states \u201cGod is only up to good work.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

That statement has the power to transform our lives, and this world,<\/p>\n

if only we believed it.<\/p>\n

But we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Too often, too many of us most often expect that God\u2019s up to no-good<\/p>\n

That he\u2019s out to get us<\/p>\n

Pay us back for all our failures<\/p>\n

Such mentality is the result of sin.<\/p>\n

For all our sophistication we\u2019ve never really advanced much past the blame-game of the Garden of Eden.<\/p>\n

When things go badly for us<\/p>\n

We blame God.<\/p>\n

It happened this way.<\/p>\n

The flight out of Baltimore was delayed for two hours.<\/p>\n

We sat patiently on the runway, air conditioning blasting.<\/p>\n

The storm blew through Charlotte, allowing us to finally complete our flight.<\/p>\n

But there were delays that required overnight stays.<\/p>\n

Hotel bills that the airlines did not feel obligated to pay for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an Act of God,\u201d the airline rep explained. \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ironic in that she was a rep for U. S. Airways.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the way of thinking for too many Americans<\/p>\n

When there is poverty, job loss, foreclosure, divorce, death, child abuse, domestic abuse, drug abuse, delayed flights, business deals or investments gone bad<\/p>\n

Why God? we cry out. \u00a0Why?<\/p>\n

Yet, if the pilot catches a tailwind that makes all the flights on-time, and the ride pleasant, if everyone is cheerful and well-rested<\/p>\n

Why does the airlines not make the announcement upon a smooth landing<\/p>\n

Thank you, God?<\/p>\n

We think of Acts of God as always being hurtful, always punishing<\/p>\n

Why no resounding applause for the<\/p>\n

Acts of God<\/p>\n

that bless us?<\/p>\n

Even our failures, says Bob Goff in his new book Love Does: The thing I love about God is that he intentionally leads us into failure. <\/em><\/p>\n

The delays<\/p>\n

The disappointments<\/p>\n

The disasters.<\/p>\n

Even in the midst of all that<\/p>\n

God is still working for our good<\/p>\n

for our transformation<\/p>\n

If only we believed in His goodness<\/p>\n

with the same conviction with which we believe<\/p>\n

God\u2019s out to punish us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be afraid of failing at things that really mattered to me,but now I\u2019m more afraid of succeeding at things that don\u2019t matter.\u201d Bob Goff\/Love Does <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 Ann Voskamp wrote a thoughtful piece about perspective. In it she states \u201cGod is only up to good work.\u201d That statement has the power to transform our lives, and this world, if only we believed it. But we don\u2019t. Too often, too many of us most often expect that God\u2019s up to no-good That […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[73,99,198,3086,286,373,2905,3082,3084,3074,3087,3085,3083],"class_list":["post-4203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ann-voskamp","tag-art","tag-bob-goff","tag-brandi-hurt-dayton","tag-character","tag-creative","tag-creator","tag-failure","tag-gods-nature","tag-love-does","tag-perspective","tag-success","tag-u-s-airways"],"yoast_head":"\nUp to Good<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Ann Voskamp wrote a thoughtful piece about perspective. In it she states "God is only up to good work." 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