For several years we have concluded our personal letter with a sharing of excerpts from the mailbag.  This time we feel impressed to alter this just a little― to share some of the "questions" which have come to us, along with some of the thoughts He has quickened to us in response.  NO WAY do we claim to have all the answer― OUR LORD is the "Yea, and Amen," and in Him alone will any of us find the answers which satisfy our heart.  But we do share and compare, and let Him quicken as He wills.  We'll omit all names and personal references, so as not to embarrass anyone, and simply share a brief synopsis of the questions which came to us.

Question: "While I want to believe in the sovereignty of God, and His control over what happens to us, how do I reconcile this truth with what has happened to me, being sexually abused as a small child?"

        May the healing balm of the love of God flow into the heart of everyone who has suffered abuse in one form or another.  And know that God can, even for this, work all things together into good― heal the wounds, and turn the scars into marks of beauty― to shine with His radiance of joy and peace.  We do not have knowledge of all His ways, nor can we answer completely what He is working through it all― but this much we have come to believe, OUR GOD controls the interplay of good and evil.  The subject is vast, we share but a few points.
        In Isaiah 45:7, God says, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." The sequence is correct― first God makes the LIGHT, and then creates the darkness, lowers the vibration of light until it is dark.  God can always restore things to their original state.  Because light comes FIRST, no matter how much darkness follows, when God restores He swallows up the darkness into light. it is a fact, light will always dispel darkness, but darkness can never dispel the light.  If a light is brightly shining in the room, there is no amount of darkness that you can bring in to put out the light.  Open the door and window and the dark of the night outside will not come in, but the light within will shine out and illumine some of the outside area― according to the strength of the light's outshining.  But never will the dark quench the light.  "And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Or, Phillips, "the darkness has never put it out." (John 1:5)
        Likewise, God says, "I MAKE PEACE, and create evil..." Since PEACE comes first, it is the original state.  You can disrupt the peace, bring evil on the scene, but it is limited, ultimately all evil will self-destruct, while all good will ultimately prevail, and the end will be peace.
        So, what about the evil we suffer?  Did God cause this?  Certainly not in the sense that He would speak a word into a man, saying, "rape this child." Absolutely not! We will not "charge God foolishly." (Job 1:22).  However, as Creator, HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS CREATION, so the ultimate charge is laid at His feet.  If He allowed it, in a sense He is responsible for it.  He has, however, given man a limited amount of freedom for self-expression, and it was out of this evilness in the wicked heart of man that the deed was wrought.  An example: you have a man with a dog on a leash, and the dog bites a child.  The man did not deliberately bite the child himself, nor did he command the dog to do so, yet, because the man held the leash, we lay the ultimate charge on him.  Satan is the dog on God's leash.  God has the power to control him, yet He allows the adversary to cause much havoc.  So what is the answer?  Look past the dog, look past the leash, and SEE THE HAND OF GOD IN ULTIMATE CONTROL!
        Joseph said to his brethren, "As for you, you thought evil against me; (when they sold him to be a slave), BUT GOD MEANT IT UNTO GOOD..." (Gen. 50:20).
        Again, The Psalmist writes (76:10), "Surely the wrath of man shall praise You: the remainder of wrath shall You restrain." If God cannot ultimately work that evil into good, and to His praise, He does not allow it to happen.  We may not understand how He can work it into good― yet the Word declares, "All things work together for good, to them that love God, and are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28).  It may well take the ages to come, to see how God has FINALLY and ULTIMATELY worked good out of something so severe which has happened to you― BUT HE WILL!
        Acting out of the wickedness of their own hearts, evil men slew our Lord, hung Him on a cross, etc.  Yet Peter preached that, "HIM (Jesus), being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." (Acts 2:23).  GOD PLANNED IT!  GOD PURPOSED IT as a part of the process to bring us salvation.  That makes those wicked hands of men no less wicked and cruel, but it was within the allowance, yes, the purpose of God.  He judged those men for their evil deed― but He surely worked it into OUR GOOD!
        In no way do we justify what this one did to you― wicked, cruel― but this much we can say, the grace of God is able to help you forgive both the one who has so violated you, and yes, to even forgive God for allowing it to happen.  And then to believe that in some way, some how, in His time, HE can take every tragic happening and cause it to be worked into good.  That is the power of the God we serve!  That is His all-conquering love, to be able to ultimately WIN in every respect.  "Charity never fails!"
        The subject of GOD― and evil― has been wrestled with for centuries, and we have but the barest glimmer into these things, but somehow we are beginning to see that our GOD IS IN CONTROL.  May His presence fill your heart with His peace, give you an outflow of love and forgiveness, and cause the path ahead to reveal much more of HIS HANDIWORK as He brings new blessings into your life. amen.
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Question: "We had earnestly prayed for His will, and knew it was OF GOD to take this route, yet it did not work out at all.  Why did God lead us down this path, when He knew it wouldn't work?"

        It is true, it is often difficult to understand why God would lead us into situations which HE purposes to end in failure and humiliation.  But it is a FACT that betimes He does, for He is developing us internally, and sometimes it is these reverses which work in us much more of His purpose, than the blessings do.  Yet what love is involved that He would so individually care for us this way.  And it is because HE KNOWS THAT WE, BY HIS GRACE, CAN ENDURE THE TRIAL, and come forth enriched and strengthened in our trust and committal to Him, and so He measures out to us these unusual leadings.
        Job said to his wife, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Then the verse adds, "In all this did not Job sin with his mouth." Since Job did not sin, i.e. miss the mark with this statement, obviously we can take it as a true word.  God alone bears the responsibility of measuring out to us both the good and the evil.  Jesus said, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." He has a quota of evil to work into each day― sometimes it is such a minute amount that it is not even noticed, but other days, it seems like "all Your waves and Your billows have gone over me." Yet, through it all, we come to see that it is BECAUSE HE LOVES US SO, that He would use every means necessary to mold and shapen us to His image, and ultimately we praise Him for all His ways.
        There are some lessons that can be best "learned" through failure.  This is not to say that we are so thick-headed that God must clobber us with a very negative situation, nor that we don't desire to walk the "blessing route." Rather, we see this as a compliment of God to us-ward, that HE KNOWS that we BY HIS GRACE can come through this hard situation, and overcome; plus, it is a token of HIS INDIVIDUAL LOVE FOR US that He would so sovereignly lead us down such a path― and then into His ultimate glory.  Full well He knows that we could not walk this way alone, and so HE GOES WITH US every step of the way, as the Guarantee that we shall ultimately prevail.  What mercy, what love― and so, "We trust in the Living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." (1 Timothy 4:10).  HE WORKS-yea, His principles are the same for all men, but particularly we see it effective for those who believe― "who are the called according to His purpose." BELIEVERS HAVE IT NOW, for the others it will come later, but He IS the Saviour of all men― hence ultimately it works into good for all.

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Question: "It seems I have prayed for so long about certain things with no visible results, that I grow discouraged.  What shall I do?"

        For sure, this is an experience that we all can identify with.  And Peter writes, "Now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations (trial, proving): that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7).
        To pray and receive instant answers certainly is wonderful-- and God often graciously does this― yet such does not "try" our faith.  But for God to WAIT a long time, and we still remain committed to Him, believing, trusting― such will deepen and strengthen our faith to His praise.  To believe in spite of appearances, is a real step forward.  To praise Him when there seems to be no answer on the horizon, brings inner growth.  When the fig tree does not blossom, no fruit on the vines, etc. yet to be able to say "Yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord is my strength..." (Habakkuk 3:18-19), that brings glory to Him.
        Furthermore, "There has no temptation taken you but such is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it."(1 Cor. 10:13).
        No doubt about it, Abraham was really tested on this score.  God promised him a seed, an heir, and yet the months slipped into years with no sign of an answer.  Still we read of Abraham, that, "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall your seed be.  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." (Romans 4:18-20).  In spite of the hopeless circumstances, God was working something out in Abraham, developing a faith, a commitment, a trust that would redound to His glory.  Also, Williams, translation gives that he "grew powerful in faith, because he gave the glory to God." And the Amplified translation concurs, "he grew strong and was empowered by faith AS he gave praise and glory to God." Don't worry about having enough faith for the challenge― JUST GIVE PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD, and as you do, you will find your faith growing, strengthening.  We are not called to fret and worry, we are CALLED TO WORSHIP HIM, and as the praises ascend, we will be quickened within― able to believe and wait till God answers our prayer.
        God knows that HIS LIFE WITHIN YOU is able to sustain you while He works out all of His purposes for you.  We learn to just PRAISE HIM at all times and for all things― and in our WORSHIPPING of Him, we come to that place where we can just "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." (Ps.37:7) Let us all be encouraged― there are many answers to prayer on the horizon, and this new year shall reveal much more of the handiwork of God in/for us.

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Question: "Does a true son of God fall?  I believed and witnessed to the message of sonship, yet I have slipped up in a certain way."

        To begin with, infallibility is not on our part, it is on GOD'S.  He does not, He cannot fail, He is incorruptible.  "The God of all grace, who has called us (YOU) unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you." So writes Peter, (1 Peter 5:10), after he had recovered from denying the Lord so heartbreakingly at the time that Jesus was on trial and crucified.
        Jesus had warned Peter, "Behold, Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not: and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren." (Luke 22:31-32).  He knew what was about to happen, but Jesus did not pray that Peter would not fall, nor did He build an hedge around him, but He did pray that his faith would "not fail," (Greek, "would not go into an eclipse"). So the time came when his flesh caved in, and the denial was bitter and dark, but FAITH DID NOT FAIL, and all it took was the reminder of the cock's crowing, and there was instant repentance, change of mind, and turning around, and then Peter was able to help strengthen his brethren― to share of the grace of God for all, because he had just experienced much of its working in his own life.  It will be when we are fully "born of God" spirit, soul, and body, that we cannot sin. (1 John 3:9).  This shall be realized in the fulness to come!
        David also wrote of this, for though he had fallen, and it cost him dearly in pain and suffering, mental anguish, and heartbreak, yet he declared, "The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord: and He (God) delights in his (man's) way.  THOUGH HE FALL, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholds him with His hand." (Psalm 37:23-24).  THERE IS NO UTTERLY CASTING DOWN because God has purposed to delight in ordering our steps.  We may falter, stumble, trip, and even fall, but He still has purposed to SET US UP AND ESTABLISH US― that we might be to His glory.  So the wise man wrote, "For a just man falls seven times, and rises up again." (Proverbs 24:16).  That is the goodness of our God― and the security of every one of US. Therefore, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I SHALL ARISE; when I sit in darkness (even the dark night of the soul), the Lord shall be a light unto me." (Micah 7:8).  What victory we have in Him!  AMEN!
        The new year is before us ― whatever our times might be, they are undergirded by the GRACE AND MERCY OF GOD, and together, forgetting those things which are behind, we shall press onward to lay hold of the prize which is set before us.  HE IS working in us―to will and to do of His good pleasure and we shall be found to His praise.  May the Light of His Presence shine brightly upon our pathways, and together let us worship Him continually

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(1) Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"  Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822

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