No Good Thing Will He Withhold

 No Good Thing Will He Withhold (Part One) by Pat Higgins CGG Weekly, August 18, 2023 "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." —Corrie ten Boom Solomon writes in Proverbs 3:27-28: Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it," when you have it with you. When God instructs us how to think and act, He is revealing how He thinks and acts. Here, God is showing us that when He knows what is good for us—after all, He is all-knowing and has all power—He will not even wait a day to act. He is "chomping at the bit,"aggressively searching for opportunities to do us good (IIChronicles 16:9). Notice the last part of Psalm 84:11, "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly." No good thing, not even one, will He withhold, not even waiting a day, according to Proverbs 3:28. So, when we are in a trial and wondering why God has not intervened, we can conclude that a change is not what is best for us now, no matter what we might think (Isaiah55:8). God has each of us exactly where we need to be at this moment because, in His love and wisdom, He knows what is good for us. Former Church of the Great God pastor, John Ritenbaugh, in his Bible Study, "Matthew (Part Twenty-Seven)," explains God's thinking: We understand the principle that God will do for us only what we cannot do for ourselves. So, what is God doing with us? He is reproducing, recreating Himself, and developing us to the maturity, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom in which we will be ableto rule and teach in the World Tomorrow. We will need to be problem solvers, and the best way to produce problem solvers is to make them solve problems. If God used the childrearing techniques that many people use, we would grow up unable to solve our problems because our Parent always solved them for us. God, however, is not a defective Parent by any means. If it is good for us to go through something, God will make us go through it. If we need the experience, education, or character that can be gained through doing it, He will not remove us from it or it from us. He will make us experience it. If He "saved" us every time we felt uncomfortable, we would grow up to be unable to do anything—uneducated, untrained, and unfit for His Kingdom. So, because He is love, He cannot answer most of our requests for deliverance since to do so would be detrimentalto our developing character. He must let us go through trials, so why even pray to that end? Why not instead ask Him for the power to overcome it? That He will grant! Our approach needs to be to pray for that power. Then, we should rise from our knees and go to work as though everything depended on us, as though God is not even in the picture, although we know He is. That is how we grow. That is how we should use prayer,to give us the ability to accept our cup, our circumstances. (Edited transcript.) Do we believe God loves each of us just as much as He loves Jesus Christ? Our Savior says so in John 17:23. Do we believe Him? Do we trust in God's love for us in every circumstance? Regarding accepting our cup, John Ritenbaugh goes on to give the examples of the apostle Paul and Jesus Christ: Remember in II Corinthians 12:1-10 how Paul stated he sought God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh, which he called "a messenger of Satan"? Each time, God said, "No." Through prayer, Paul came to accept his condition, whatever it was, and to realize that God would never remove it. Even so, he understood that God would give him the power to endure or overcome it. So, he accepted God'sanswer. Many of us do not accept God's answers, and because we do not understand this principle, we become bitter and discouraged. We despair and feel deep self-pity. "Woe is me!" we cry, when God is doing His best to develop knowledge, understanding, wisdom, empathy,compassion, and all kinds of positive attitudes and character in us through our circumstances. We fight Him tooth and nail because we do not accept His decisions. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus came to God and said, "I would like to get out of this trouble. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done." How did He come to accept the Father's answer? By prayer. In prayer, He realized He would accept God's will,God's decision, regardless of what it led to—ridicule, weakness, pain, shame, and ignominious death. He determined He would accept it. John Ritenbaugh ends this section with a comment on prayer: "We should use prayer to ask God for the ability or the power to endure. If we come to regard prayer as merely a means to escape, we will end up bewildered and disappointed." Why is this true? Paul, in the last part of I Corinthians 10:13, writes about escaping temptation: ". . . but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." On its face, "escape" cannot be what the apostle meant. If we escape, what is there to bear? We arefree. New Testament writers use the underlying Greek word for "escape," ekbasis (Strong's #1545), only one other time, in Hebrews 13:7, where it is rendered "outcome." On his website, Greek language scholar William D. Mounce defines ekbasis as "way out; outcome, end, result." Two Bible versions give a more on-the-mark adaptation of Paul's thought: •But when you are tempted, he will also give you the ability to endure the temptation as your way of escape. (GOD'S WORD Translation) •[B]ut when he tests you, he will also bring about the outcome that you are able to bear it. (Evangelical Heritage Version) Our problems, large and small, are training exercises God uses to perfect us (Ephesians4:13). Our focus should not be to escape but to learn the lessons and overcome. The quicker we do so, the faster God can change the situation once we have passed the test. But for the others, the long-lasting trials, our way of escape is learning patience and endurance with God's help through prayer. So, like Paul, we are victorious rather than crushed by the trial (ICorinthians 15:57). Because of God's help, we can bear it and be better prepared for leadership in God's Kingdom. The Contemporary English Version renders the last part of Exodus 34:6 as, "I show great love, and I can be trusted" (emphasis added). Jesus and Paul trusted God. Because of this trust, Paul could write in I Thessalonians 5:18, ". . . in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." He could thank God for everything, even sore trials, because he trusted in God's love and that His will was for Paul's greatest good—to perfect him (Psalm 138.8; Mathew 5:48). In His Word, God says, "I can be trusted," and adds, "No good thing will [I] withhold." Do we believe Him? In Part Two, we will see more about trials. ---------------------- No Good Thing Will He Withhold (Part Two) We saw in Part One that God reveals His character by what He teaches us. Proverbs 3:27-28 shows that God will not withhold good from us even for a day. James 4:17 tells us why: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." Constantly doing good is a central part of God's sinlessness. In the last part of Psalm 84:11, He reinforces that "no good thing will He withhold." No, not even one. If God says He does not withhold good even for a day, it is only human nature to wonder why He lets a sore trial continue for weeks, months, or indefinitely. John Ritenbaugh gives a detailed answer to this concern in his July 1982 Bible Study,"Matthew (Part Twenty-Seven)." The following is the crux of his insight: If it is good for us to go through something, God will make us go through it. If we need the experience, education, or character that can be gained through doing it, He will not remove us from it or it from us. He will make us experience it. He also notes, "So, because He is love, He cannot answer most of our requests for deliverance since to do so would be detrimental to our developing character." God sees the good the experience will produce for us: In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (IPeter 1:6-7) Trials are part of the life to which God has called us (Acts14:22). They are necessary if we will become holy as He is holy (IPeter 1:16). But trials take on various forms. They differ in duration, from brief to lifelong. For some, life is one trial after another, each varying in difficulty. Others may experience a trial so severe most wilt at the thought of facing it firsthand.Some challenges are physical, and others are mental and emotional. For a perspective on such hardships, notice someone who experienced a life of many harsh trials to gain insights from his experience. In II Corinthians 12:7, Paul relates a lifelong trial centering on what he calls "a thorn in the flesh." He considers it a good thing because it was necessary to keep him humble. He saw its existence as a mark of God's love for him, the same love He bestows on us. Paul's trial is an example that reveals that God customizes our trials to us, each tailor-made to meet what we need to "go on to perfection" (Hebrews6:1). Additionally, Paul asserts in I Corinthians 15:10, "I labored more abundantly than they all." In II Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul gives examples that back up his statement: Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beatenwith rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perilsin the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for allthe churches. While all the apostles but John suffered martyrdom, none have a list of suffered dangers approaching the apostle Paul's. Why did God require him to go through so many trials (Acts9:16)? Some might suppose it was because he persecuted the church (ICorinthians 15:9), but like his countrymen, he did so from zeal without knowledge (Romans10:2). Then again, Peter and the other disciples knew Jesus was the Son of God (John6:69), yet they deserted Him in His darkest hour. That seems worse. Did Paul have more to overcome than the other apostles? Scripture shows the opposite: The thorn in his flesh was to keep him humble because he had so much going for him. Along with his unmatched zeal and dedication, he had an excellent education (Acts22:3) and talents (ICorinthians 14:18). He needed a daily, perhaps hourly, reminder of where his real strength should derive (John15:5). Consider another reason that could account for his many sore trials. Jesus tells His apostles in Matthew 19:28: "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." If each apostle's future is to rule an Israelite tribe, it is reasonable to expect the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans11:13) will similarly judge the Gentiles in God's Kingdom. Consider the magnitude of that responsibility just using today's population for comparison. The populations of all the nations of modern Israel add up to less than a billion people. Over eightbillion people live on the planet, leaving seven billion-plus for Paul to govern—over seven times the number that the twelve original apostles together would rule. Not only would the number of people make it an enormous job, but the diversity of the Gentile population would make the responsibility exponentially more complex. The peoples of the West, the general location of the modern twelve tribes, havea similar core because, as Jacob's children, they have some connection to God in their past. In contrast, Gentiles have many distinct cultures, from Australia's Aborigines to Africa's Zulus and all those in between, most with little or no knowledge of God.What a monumental task Paul would have to meld the many divergent populations and cultures into oneness with God! The more complex and challenging the job, the more intense and demanding the preparation. In today's military, a buck private receives nowhere near the training of a special forces soldier. The path for a corporate receptionist differs fromthat of a CEO in time, intensity, and difficulty. If this speculation about Paul's reward is correct, the reason for his intense training becomes apparent. God has also called each of His elect to fill a position in the Millennium (John14:2). Just as Christ promises thrones to the apostles, He promises us the same (Revelation 3:21). God has called us to be rulers, not buck privates. We are slated to fill big jobs that call for rigorous training. As with Paul, the intensity of our trainingand trials could very well indicate the level of responsibility God has in mind for each of us (Luke19:15-19). As Jesus told His disciples, only God decides who will fill each role and the preparation needed for it (Matthew20:23). God has guaranteed He will not put us through any training, no matter how tough, beyond our ability to handle (ICorinthians 10:13). He assures us He oversees every moment of our training and development (Job7:18). Do we believe Him? Do we have faith in His love for us, that His objective is our greatest good (Jeremiah29:11)? We need not worry that the task is too big for us. We can successfully meet our challenges because of God's love for us and His help, as promised in Isaiah 41:10: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. - Pat Higgins