ALL THINGS HAPPEN FOR THEIR GOOD
Mike Cunningham
October 27, 2013

As soon as I woke-up each morning during the past week and a half, I found myself humming the tune of a wonderful old hymn and I continued humming away on and off throughout each day. However, as much as I like the hymn, all I could remember was the first line of the lyrics.

Last Tuesday I started to focus on this morning’s sermon and asked God to let me know the kind of message that He wanted me to deliver to you folks today. I had considered addressing the sins of gossip, slander or bullying, each of which is relevant and timely. But the humming intensified, so much so, that I got out my hymnal and read the lyrics. That’s when I knew that God had given me the beginning of today’s message. Here are the lyrics.

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!
Open my ears, that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave notes fall on my ear,
Everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my ears, illumine me,
Spirit divine!
Open my mouth, and let me bear,
Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart and let me prepare
Love with Thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready my God, Thy will to see,
Open my heart, illumine me,
Spirit divine.

I goggled it and discovered that the text of “Open My Eyes” was written in 1895 shortly before Scott’s death. Each stanza reveals an increasing receptiveness to the “Spirit divine.” Open eyes lead to “glimpses of truth.” Open ears lead to “voices of truth.” An open mouth leads to sharing the “warm truth everywhere.” An open heart leads to sharing “love to thy children.”

The image of open eyes is common in the Bible. In some cases, this is a sign of Christ’s healing power, as when Jesus gave sight to the blind man at the pool of Siloam in John 9. Closed eyes, on the other hand, could be a metaphor for avoiding the truth as in the case of John 12:40, a passage following the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem and beginning his journey to the cross: “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”

The image of open ears is also significant in the biblical witness. Matthew often reprises the theme “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Closed ears become a metaphor for a lack of understanding: “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15).

While the eyes and the ears are receptive organs, the mouth has the capacity to project. The mouth may project “cursing and deceit and fraud” (Psalm 10:7), or it may be an organ that projects praise, as Psalm 51:15 exhorts us: “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.”

The heart is the only organ included in this hymn that is not visible. It may harbor deceit. Jesus asks in Matthew 9:4, “Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?” But Jesus also realized that the heart has the capacity for purity: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

I thanked the Lord for giving me the beginning of today’s message and wondered what He wanted me to share next. When I checked my inbox I knew that He had given me the answer. It was a Grace Gem called
“Comfort for Christians!” by James Smith which was written a long time ago. Smith begins by quoting Romans 8:28.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose!”

Smith asks; “All things? Yes! Everything that happens to the Christian is directed and overruled by God’s special Providence for his good! The experience may be very bitter–it may lay him very low and try him to the core; it may keep him in the dust for a long time. But it will do him good; not only in the end, but while it lasts. Christian, your present trial is for your good. Nothing could be better for you! You may not see it now; you may even feel as if you never could think so, but the time is coming when you will bless God for it.

You love God–and God loves you with an infinite and eternal love. You came to the cross as a poor sinner–and you looked to the Lord Jesus to be your perfect Savior. This proves that you have been called according to God’s purpose. You are one of God’s beloved ones, and as such–you may have the assurance that all things . . .light and darkness, health and sickness, hatred and love, prosperity and adversity, life and death–will work together for your good!

Dark clouds bring rich blessings, and fierce winters produce fruitful springs. Painful trials in the furnace of affliction often precede the sweetest consolations. Your present affliction, whether it is sickness of body, trouble of mind, bereavements, losses, crosses, or whatever else, is all working together for your good. It will work for good in the future, and it is working for good now. While your heart is bleeding, and you are tempted to think that all is against you, all is working together for your good!

Smith prays: “Dear Lord, I do not see how my affliction can be good for me. But help me, Lord, to accept it as such by faith–so that I may receive what You have for me through it.”

Romans 5:3-4. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character and character produces hope.

Grace Gems pilgrim@gracegems.org

Now I had a good chunk of today’s message and I once again went to the Lord in prayer. I looked to the books on the right side of my chair and picked up the recently published “Walking With God Through Pain And Suffering” by Timothy Keller. I just happened to open it to page 125 on which Keller describes the painful ordeal of a remarkable woman named Georgiana. That’s when I knew that God had given me the final part of the message He wanted me to share with you folks this morning. Georgiana explains that:

“My daughters and I love fiction-especially stories that have happy endings. Our life with their father and my husband, Ted, had been so happy and blissful. So much so, that if God said to me, “I am going to allow a painful crisis in your family, and all of you will suffer,” I would calmly reply, “Okay, Father, let Your will be done.” We could handle anything together.

On May 13, 2011, our youngest daughter, Jane, had an accident. She tipped backward in her seat and fell, hitting her head on the hardwood floor. I assessed her immediately, as a trained infant and pediatric nurse practitioner. She showed no signs of injury. My sister, also a nurse practitioner, agreed that she appeared healthy.

We took Jane to her scheduled pediatricians visit on May 16, 2011. I told the doctor what had happened, and he thought it would be prudent to obtain a skull X-ray. We took Jane to the children’s hospital. A CT scan confirmed that there were no other complications. I obviously felt terrible, and had many questions, but we were comforted and assured by the medical staff. We praised God all the way home for protecting Jane from more severely injuries.

A week later, I was home alone with Anne, Paige, and Jane. Suddenly, there were police detectives and Child Protective Services (CPS) at our house. They had come to investigate a report of “severe child abuse.” Their questions were shocking, accusatory, and confusing. Even more appalling, my daughters witnessed it all.

The report of “severe child abuse came from a new doctor who only viewed the X-ray, and made the report to CPS based on nothing more. Because Jane was under twelve months old the report was automatically classified as a criminal case.

All three of our daughters were removed from our custody. There was no evidence of abuse, past or present, in any of our children. Every medical professional who actually examined Jane and spoke with our family ruled out the possibility of abuse.

In spite of the truth, our family was torn apart, and was not reunited until nine months later. Ted and I were not allowed to live in the same house as our girls, so we were forced to move out, and were allowed only supervised visitation.

I will never forget the first night away from our daughters. I was raging, crying out to God, screaming in agony. Then something powerful happened. A calmness and warmth spread threw me. I was suddenly aware that God was right there, holding me, raging with me at the injustice, weeping with us, His children. In that moment, I had never felt more protected in all my life.

I certainly did not remain one hundred percent trusting or peaceful over the following nine months. Every second felt like evil persecution. Our children were suffering. I was being falsely accused of “severely abusing” Jane. I was also being personally and professionally attacked on many levels. I had spent over a decade working as a nurse with high-risk families. I was specifically trained to prevent child abuse and neglect.

In addition to the emotional assault on our family, we also experienced the enormous financial burden of legal defense, case related consultations, associated medical bills, and counseling, and I wasn’t allowed to return to work since I worked with children.

So what happened to that deep, peaceful awareness of my Father’s presence and protection? It was still in me, grounding me, giving me strength to get through another day. Despite each day’s disappointments, frustrations, and sorrows, I slept soundly each night. Each morning, I thanked God for recharging me.

During the day, I frequently wrestled with God. I often brooded when He didn’t “make things right.” I was so weary of waiting for the truth to prevail. There were countless court meetings, petitions, hearings, CPS visits, police procedures, legal proceedings, rumors, expert opinions, off-the-record tips, and massive amounts of paperwork. Most of the time, I accepted the courage God was giving me to handle these daily challenges. Other times, I crumbled under the pressure. Over time, I learned that God didn’t mind how strong or week I was on any given day. He was the same. This was the true miracle-that my family lived and survived in the fiery furnace with God’s provision, not that God ultimately rescued us from it.

We often found ourselves speaking words of hope and encouragement to others. I never, however, concealed my true feelings about what was happening or how I was struggling. God made me vulnerable enough to touch peoples hearts, but resilient enough to testify about His provision. Many said, “If that happened to me, I would fall apart; I wouldn’t survive; my anger would make me do something regrettable. But you are so strong, so faithful, so patient!’ Every time someone said this, I felt a spark of joy, because I loved being God’s instrument. I did feel all of those awful things and hopeless emotions, but God was strong for me. I did fall apart, often, but God always put me back together. I did relish the thought of revenge at times, but God replaced my bitterness with mercy. God was the patient One, not me!

We finally made it to Juvenile Court trial. Although it was technically a criminal investigation as well, the police had performed many investigative procedures, and since they never uncovered any evidence against us, we were never charged criminally. The judge was respected as a fair and objective judge by all. The CPS attorney had the opposite reputation. While on the stand, I often felt hurt, angry, annoyed, defeated, tricked, betrayed, and helpless, but the whole time I could feel God with me, fighting for me. After the third day of trial, once Ted and I were alone, I cried, “Thank you, God, for the privilege of this suffering, for being with us in it, and for shining through us during this suffering…”

On the fourth day, the judge made a declaration that astonished everyone. He dismissed the entire case as unfounded-without even hearing our defense. I whispered “thank You,” over and over. Our attorney said to us, “This isn’t my victory or your victory. This is God’s victory. Thank Him, not me.”

When the battle was over, there were battle wounds that needed tending. Initially, we were so relieved and overjoyed by freedom that we did not anticipate the emotional task ahead. Despite the reunification of our family, our daughters continued to suffer the effects of our crisis.

Ted and I also faced some symptoms of post-traumatic stress, but even so, the predominant mood in our home was relief. We felt peace and joy with fresh intensity. I felt a renewed sense of awe and gratitude fro the gift of my children. It was amazing how the lingering hurt coexisted with the delight, how our grieving was simultaneous with our healing.

February 2013 marked only the one-year anniversary of our trial. The most powerful facilitation to our recovery has been forgiveness. I think injustice is very difficult to forgive. Personally, it would have been impossible to forgive without God’s intervention.

After our exoneration, my family attempted repeatedly to contact the children’s hospital that ignited the whole ordeal. The chief of staff agreed to a meeting with the physician who reported us. Out intention was to have a collegial discussion about the events, in an effort to prevent similar harm to other families.

I recounted every appalling detail of our family’s experience to the chief of staff and the head of Child Abuse Pediatrics (the one who reported us). As I spoke, I felt confident and calm, never angry or bitter.

When I finished, the chief of staff apologized, saying, “Mistakes were made, and I am very sorry for what your family had to go through.” Then the physician who made the misdiagnosis of child abuse echoed the same apology.

When we were leaving the office, I hugged the doctor who had reported us. Trust me, I did not feel like showing love to that person, but God did. That was the most powerful healing and reconciliation I have ever experienced. God changed me in that moment, more that He had changed me through the entire tribulation. He miraculously changed my perspective-I suddenly saw myself in this flawed woman facing me. How many mistakes have I made in my life? How many people have I hurt, intentionally or unintentionally? How many times have I allowed pride to prevent me from doing the right thing? Howe, after all, was I different from my accuser?

I believe our story does have a happy ending, but the truth is, our story is never ending. And I praise God that He is still writing chapters of my life. My family and I are humbly grateful for the suffering our Father endured with us. Without it, we would be comfortably living our “old normal,” instead of courageously living our “new normal.”

Amen, Georgiana, Amen! Regardless of the amount of suffering a Christian will endure in his or her lifetime; he or she can take comfort in knowing that God sees to it that, because they have been washed clean by the precious blood of Christ, ultimately, ALL THINGS HAPPEN FOR THEIR GOOD.

Lord willing, next week….