The Forty-Day Journey of Promise
Day Five: Beauty from Ashes—The Intention of Jehovah
Note: Welcome to The Journey, our forty-day blog series where we’re learning life lessons from the legacy of African American Christianity. The series is based upon material from my book Beyond the Suffering. To learn more about Beyond the Suffering, including downloading a free chapter, click here.
It’s Possible to Hope
Captured Africans needed Divine consolation teaching that it’s possible to hope because God is good. So they reminded each other that God weaves good for them even from human evil against them.
Such faith, as Quobna Cugoano (for his background, click here) believed, requires spiritual eyes like those of Joseph (Genesis 50:20).
“I may say with Joseph, as he did with respect to the evil intention of his brethren, when they sold him into Egypt, that whatever evil intentions and bad motives those insidious robbers had in carrying me away from my native country and friends, I trust, was what the Lord intended for my good.”
Cugoano makes the sweeping affirmation that, even in the face of human evil, God is friendly and benevolent, able and willing to turn into good ends whatever may occur. It is the belief that God squeezes from evil itself a literal blessing.
We can journey with our spiritual friends to the God of Joseph and Cugoano who Master-crafts every event of their lives to reveal his glory and bring them good. We can interact with them about the God who fashions for them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3).
Looking at Life with Spiritual Eyes
Olaudah Equiano (for his background, click here) taught his readers a similar lesson when he ended his narrative with these closing words of counsel.
“I early accustomed my self to look at the hand of God in the minutest occurrence, and to learn from it a lesson of morality and religion; and in this light every circumstance I have related was to me of importance. After all, what makes any event important, unless by it’s observation we become better and wiser, and learn ‘to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God!’”
Like Equiano, we practice spiritual friendship by reminding one another that God uses unjust suffering to make us more just, unloving treatment to make us more loving, and arrogant abusers to make us more humble. Like Equiano, we exercise spiritual discipline by orienting ourselves to detect God’s hand in every circumstance—no matter how seemingly minute.
Join the Conversation (Post a Comment for a Chance to Receive a Copy of Beyond the Suffering)
1. How could the truth that “God is good even when life is bad” impact your life and ministry?
2. How could “looking at life with spiritual eyes” impact your life and ministry?
Amen, Amen, & Amen!!! As children of our most high God it is our priviledge to have His hand fashion the worst done to us into stunning bounty over us, turning cauldrons of hatred and bitterness into cisterns of grace and beauty; where we come to be participants handing out eternity on earth, and we truly live from a place of no regrets! Thank-you for articulating this reality so well!
Applying the truth that “God is good even when life is bad” has been essential to my life, not to mention my ministry (which is in essence an extension of my life), especially over the past decade and a half as we’ve been through a very LONG season of suffering. I’m certain that I would not be alive to write this comment if the Holy Spirit had not taught me lessons from both the life of Job & the life of Joseph.
Whenever I am tempted to buy the lie of the enemy that “God is bad because life is bad” that becomes a slippery slope downhill. Having taken that trip a time or two I’d rather not repeat it. I’m thankful that the Word of God is alive and active and that the Holy Spirit reminds me of the true nature and character of God on a daily basis.
This statement stood out to me: “Like Equiano, we exercise spiritual discipline by orienting ourselves to detect God’s hand in every circumstance—no matter how seemingly minute.” It’s so true. I call it treasure hunting. Sometimes I find a little. Sometimes I find a lot but it’s so important to do.
Wonderful encouraging post, Bob. Looking forward to reading along over the course of the 40 days. Initially this book was not as intriguing to me as “Sacred Friendships” but I’m totally hooked after just reading bits & pieces.
I’m so glad God gave you the passions He did. They bless us, your readers, friends, & colleauges.
Thanks for sharing!