Seven Foot Tall and Bulletproof
History is replete with examples of bad people with bad intentions doing bad things to people. But have you ever noticed how often those bad intentions are turned on their proverbial heads, resulting in remarkable good? A quick AI search brings countless cases in point:
John Bunyan’s Imprisonment – Arrested for preaching without a license in 17th-century England, Bunyan spent 12 years in jail. During that time, he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most influential Christian books ever published.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer – A German pastor and theologian, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned and eventually executed for his resistance to the Nazi regime. Yet his writings from prison, especially Letters and Papers from Prison, have inspired generations with their depth and courage.
The Apostle Paul – Much of the New Testament was written while Paul was imprisoned. His letters to early churches—written under duress—have shaped Christian theology and practice for centuries.
Richard Wurmbrand – A Romanian pastor imprisoned for 14 years under a communist regime for his faith. While suffering in solitary confinement and torture, he composed sermons in his mind to stay sane. After his release, he founded The Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry that now supports persecuted Christians worldwide.
Harriet Tubman – Born into slavery, Tubman endured unimaginable hardship. But after escaping, she returned again and again to rescue others via the Underground Railroad. The evil of slavery became the backdrop for her extraordinary courage and legacy of liberation.
In each of these examples, we see men and women stripped of their power, laid wholly vulnerable to the forces bearing against them for their harm.
These stories remind us that while evil may intend to destroy, it often becomes the very soil where resilience, purpose, and grace take root.
So what do these stories all have in common? In each of these cases, we see men and women of God submitting themselves to His higher purposes.
Submitting ourselves to God is important for many reasons, but chief among them is the key role it plays in allowing us to experience God's goodness.
In one classic OT example, we read the story of how Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold him into slavery. They perpetrated this crime against Joseph with nothing but bad intentions.
The remarkable part of the story was how Joseph chose to respond to his circumstances. Rather than becoming angry or bitter or playing the victim, Joseph submitted himself to a God Who had nothing but his best interests in mind. Because he submitted himself to God in the midst of his trial, it really didn't matter what his brothers’ intentions were.
By committing Himself to God, Joseph allowed God's good intentions to override the bad intentions of his brothers.
It is important to note that it was only because Joseph responded the way he did that he was able to overcome his circumstances and experience God's good intentions. The same is true for all of us.
As we live out our lives, we will be met by forces that do not have our best interests in mind. And just as Joseph was outnumbered and overpowered by his brothers, so it will be for us. At these times, we will seem to have no choice but to be subject to the forces that have marshaled themselves against us.
But we will have a choice!
Like Joseph, we will still have the option of committing ourselves to God, the choice to endure our circumstances with an attitude of humble submission.
The bottom line is God takes care of whatever we entrust to Him. So long as we yield ourselves to Him, it really doesn't matter what bad intentions come our way. We don't have to outsmart or outmaneuver every bad guy in our world. All we have to do is dedicate ourselves to God, without reservation.
When we have given all that we have and all that we are to God, the bad intentions of others can't possibly prevail against us. We are seven feet tall and bullet proof!
As Joseph explained to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50:20, NLT).
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Don't Let Progress Block the Sonlight
Reminicing about the glory days of Grand Central Staion, one Facebook commentor posted:
It’s one of the most iconic images in American history: sunlight streaming through the towering arched windows of Grand Central Terminal, casting dramatic beams of light across the main concourse. Captured in 1929, this stunning visual has enchanted viewers for generations. But what many don’t realize is that this natural light display is nearly impossible to replicate today, and it’s all because of New York City’s ever-rising skyline.
He goes on to suggest that this phenomenon is not unique to Grand Central. The beauty of many such grand archetectural wonders are now obscured by the shadows of a growing metropolis. "Known as urban canyons," he writes, "these environments can significantly alter how sunlight reaches street level, affecting everything from mood to vegetation to historical preservation."
He concludes:
In the case of Grand Central, the change is especially poignant. Once bathed in sunlight, the station now depends primarily on artificial lighting to maintain its grandeur. While still breathtaking in its architecture and cultural significance, it no longer offers that same celestial light show captured so beautifully nearly a century ago.
This shift is a powerful reminder of how cities evolve, and how even something as intangible as sunlight can be lost in the pursuit of progress.
Progress, in and of itself is a great thing. Progress brings change. It brings growth. Yet progress can sometimes cloud the past, dimming its impact, and dulling its effect.
In terms of our faith, Christianity itself stands in contant jeopardy of progressing, evolving beyond its orthodoxy — the basic, most essential tennets of the faith. In our striving to be culurally relevant, we run the risk of losing sight of our foundational truths.
When cultural trends deeply impact or infiltrate the Church, they can stand to create vast, figurative urban canyans which may potentioally alter the way genuine Sonlight reaches the figurative street level, "affecting everything from mood to vegetation to historical preservation."
We must therefore be cautous not to let progress (or progressivism) cloud the very Sonlight that defines us.
Again, progress in and of itself is not a bad thing. But as we grow and build on that progress, we have to be careful to not let it overshadow the foundation.
"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthains 3:11, ESV).
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5, ESV).
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, ESV).
Mortality Captured in a Selfie
For six years Dr. Pratik Joshi had been dreaming of a new life for himself and his family. He had been living and working in London, preparing to bring his wife and children there to join him. After years of hard work, the time had finally come. He flew to western India to retrieve his family to begin living their dream.
Just two days prior to departure for the UK, his wife, Dr. Komi Vayas resigned her position, packed up their belongings, and prepared her children for the flight to their new home.
They then boarded Air India flight 171 and snapped this selfie of their happy, hopeful family as they anticipated departure for the future that awaited them.
(Image, X/@theskindoctor13)
Then, just 32 or so seconds after taking off, the plane began to fall from the sky, crashing into a residential neighbourhood in Ahmedabad. The crash killed all 242 passengers on board, including Joshi, Vayas, and their three young children.
We make our plans. We dream our dreams. Yet ... Life is short, fragile, unexpected. While we plan for or dream of a thousand tomorrows, we cannot know what tomorrow, or even the next 32 seconds will bring.
Make your plans. Dream your dreams. But do all in accordance with the will and heart of the Lord, remembering that "[we] are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9, ESV).
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21).
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that'" (James 4:13-15, ESV).
​May God comfort the hearts of the grieving in the wake of this tragedy. May they find HIM as they contemplate their own mortality. So may we all.