God Never Wastes Anything!

God Never Wastes Anything!

 

 

 

            This Friday morning, I had a conversation with my beloved wife Jane about our dear daughter, Yeri, who is in Japan doing mission work.  Jane and I both saw the photos and captions Yeri posted on her Instagram story, but while I didn’t fully grasp the meaning, my wife understood it well and explained it to me. 😊  The main point of her message was, “God never wastes anything.”  Even in things that may seem insignificant or trivial to us, God does not waste them but uses everything to fulfill His sovereign will.  So I told Jane that it is truly a great blessing and grace from God for Yeri to realize that “God never wastes anything.”  I also told Jane that it’s a truly precious experience for Yeri to encounter God in this way while in Japan.  Then, I shared my thoughts with my wife about my college friend.  The reason is that, after hearing the words “God never wastes anything” from Jane, my friend found comfort and inspiration.  She couldn’t forget that word from my wife and mentioned it a couple of times during an online prayer meeting with me and our another from college.  So today, I want to reflect on the theme “God never wastes anything!” with three points in mind: (1) Time, (2) Suffering, and (3) Sin.

 

1.     I believe that God never wastes the time He has given us.  Although there are plenty of times when it feels like we are wasting the time God has given us here on earth, I believe that God never wastes His time given to us.

a.      The Scripture says: “making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16), “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity” (Colossians 4:5).

b.     The Bible urges us to be careful in how we live, making the most of our time like wise people rather than unwise, because these days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).  When I meditate on this passage, I think the reason a foolish person (v.15) does not make good use of his time is because he does not recognize that these days are evil.  Moreover, he does not understand what the Lord’s will is (v.17).  Therefore, he ends up indulging in drunkenness or addiction, wasting his life (v.18).  However, a wise person understands that the times are evil and values time accordingly.  He understands the Lord’s will and are filled with the Spirit, living a life devoted to fulfilling God’s purpose alone (vv.15-18).

c.      Therefore, a Spirit-filled, wise person acts with wisdom toward those who do not believe in Jesus, making the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:5). He shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with those believers because a Spirit-filled, wise person understands that now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

d.     However, there are times when I feel like I am neither Spirit-filled nor wise, unable to understand the Lord’s will, and wasting the time God has given me on this earth.  In those moments, I feel apologetic to God and discouraged with myself.  Yet, over time, God has given me faith to believe that because He is perfect (Matthew 5:48) and makes no mistakes.  Even if it seems from my perspective that I am wasting time, He still uses that seemingly wasted time to accomplish His sovereign will.  Therefore, in faith in our perfect God, I seek wisdom and the fullness of the Spirit from Him, gratefully using my time here, humbly enjoying the blessings given to me in the Lord, and striving to fulfill my mission—to meditate on God’s Word day and night and to share it with my neighbors.

 

2.     I believe that God never wastes the suffering we go through.  Although there are many times when we do not understand His purpose in allowing us to suffer, I believe that God uses even that suffering for our benefit [(Psalms 119:71) “It was good for me to be afflicted …”].  So, why do we experience suffering?  Although we cannot fully answer the problem of suffering, I have received some grace and insight through meditating on God’s Word.  Here are a few of those insights:

a.      The purpose of suffering is to learn obedience and become perfect (Hebrews 5:8-9).

(1)   For example, in the case of Jonah, who was disobedient, God gave him suffering so that he could be saved from suffering (Jonah 1:4) and lead him to another suffering (v. 17), so that he could pray to God (chapter 2, especially v. 2), and so that he could obey God's word again (chapter 3).

b.     The purpose of suffering is to make us humble and not conceited.

(1)   For example, the apostle Paul said that God gave him a thorn in the flesh to keep him from becoming conceited (2 Corinthians 12:7).

c.      The purpose of suffering is for God to purify us, making us holy and suitable vessels for His use, becoming vessels for honorable use (2 Timothy 2:21).  Just as a blacksmith refines silver by placing it in a furnace to remove impurities (Proverbs 25:4), God refines our hearts by placing us in the furnace of affliction (Isaiah 48:10) to strengthen us (Job 23:10).  His goal is to shape us into vessels He can use (Proverbs 25:4).

(1)   For example, in Job’s case, the purpose behind God allowing his suffering was to refine him so he would emerge like pure gold (Job 23:10).

d.     The purpose of suffering is to teach us the difference between serving God and serving the world (or idols) that we prefer over God (2 Chronicles 12:8).

e.      The purpose of suffering is to reveal who Jesus is.

(1)   For example, the disciples of Jesus faced suffering due to a great wind and waves (Matthew 14:24).  Why did they endure this suffering?  While we cannot fully comprehend the work of God’s wisdom, what we can speculate is that the purpose of their suffering was to help them realize that Jesus is truly the Son of God (v.33).

(2)   Therefore, when we face suffering, instead of asking “Why?” (Why is this suffering happening to me?) or “How?” (How did this happen to me?), or even questioning “What is God’s will?” we should ask the question, “Who is my God?”  In doing so, we should meditate more deeply on God’s nature in the midst of our suffering.  Thus, as we grow in knowledge of God through our trials (Hosea 4:1, 6; 6:4), we should be able to make a confession similar to that of the Apostle Paul: “… the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord is of surpassing worth” (Philippians 3:8).  Even through suffering, we must strive to grow in the knowledge of the most excellent Lord Jesus Christ.

f.      The purpose of suffering is to help us trust ourselves less and to trust God more, at every moment of our lives, especially in the moments close to death (2 Corinthians 1:8-10) (John Piper).

g.     The purpose of suffering is salvation.

(1)   For example, God allowed Joseph to endure all the hatred from his brothers, the threat of his own death, being sold into slavery, and living in prison from the age of 17 to 39 to save the lives of Joseph’s brothers and their descendants (Genesis 45:7).

 

3.     I believe that God does not waste even the sins we commit.  Of course, from my perspective, committing sins against God obscures His glory and is an act of disobedience to His Word, so I consider the sins themselves to be a waste.  However, from God’s perspective, He understands my weaknesses and has compassion for me.  He does not waste even the sins I commit but uses them to fulfill His sovereign will toward me.  I would like to find biblical examples to support this line of thought:

a.      The sin of disobedience to God's Word: The prophet Jonah disobeyed God's command (Jonah 1:2-3).  As a result, God sent a great wind upon the sea, causing such a violent storm that the ship he was on was nearly broken apart (v.5).  Consequently, the unbelieving sailors threw Jonah into the sea, and the raging waters immediately calmed, leading them to offer sacrifices to God and vow to serve Him (vv.15-16).  In this way, God did not waste Jonah’s sin of disobedience; instead, He used it to prompt the unbelieving sailors aboard the ship to offer sacrifices to Him and vow to serve Him.  Furthermore, God did not waste Jonah's disobedience either, using it to lead him to pray with thanksgiving from the belly of the great fish and to confess that “salvation comes from the Lord” (chapter 2, especially vv.1, 9).

b.     The sin of denying Jesus: The Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times (Matthew 26:70, 72, 74).  After Peter denied Jesus three times, the resurrected Jesus asked him three questions: “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:15, 16, 17).  After this, Jesus entrusted Peter, who had been called to be a fisher of men (Matthew 4:19), with a greater mission: “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15, 17), “Take care of my sheep” (v.16).  In this way, God did not waste the Apostle Peter's sin of denying Jesus; instead, He used it to give him an even greater mission.  Moreover, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, God filled Peter with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4) to enable him to fulfill that mission.

c.      The sin of fierce disagreement: The Apostle Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement (Acts 15:39).  This occurred because Barnabas wanted to take his cousin Mark (Colossians 4:10) with them on the second missionary journey, while Paul argued that it was not right to take Mark, who had shown an irresponsible attitude by abandoning them during the early part of the first missionary journey (Acts 15:37-38).  As a result, after a heated argument, they separated: Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the believers, to strengthen the churches in Syria and Cilicia (vv.39-41).  In this way, God did not waste the sin of Paul and Barnabas's sharp disagreement; instead, He used it to create two separate missionary teams (one with Barnabas and Mark, and the other with Paul and Silas) to serve as instruments of the Lord in different regions.