For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. I Timothy4:4-5
Paul may have been talking about food restrictions in this passage and how they were not necessary for salvation. His churches battled whether to uphold the Hebrew food restrictions in Leviticus and whether or not to eat foods offered to the Graeco-Roman gods. But, I see a deeper wisdom in his words to Timothy.
Everything created by God is good. It is made holy through prayer and His Word. When God created the heavens and the earth, he claimed by Word that it was good. We are to receive everything with thanksgiving, knowing from whence it comes. Everything. That’s a tall order to fill, isn’t it? How can we possibly do that when there is so much evil in the world? This isn’t Paradise down here. Mankind is not good. We are all sinners and we continue to sin against each other and against God.
The key is to give it all to God through prayer. Put every situation, every joy, every hurt and every blessing back in His hands. God makes good because God is good. It is His nature. Through prayer, we can see good come even from evil.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21
Evil spelled backwards is live. Live in Christ, and let Him live in you and whatever evil crosses your path, have faith that even that can be turned to good through prayer. Turning evil around. Sounds simple, but it isn’t easy. It can only be done through Him. He is in the miracle business, one act at a time.
