God is a God of restoration and compassion, and He cares far more than we can even think or imagine about our lives individually. For so many the uncertainty of the virus, unrest in our culture, and the unknowns of the future have left many feeling defeated, overwhelmed, or crushed in spirit.
Yet this is an instance in which we can turn our faces towards God, the God Who splits seas, makes prisoners rulers, and defies death itself.
Your set-back is not your curtain call, it is the set-up before act two. If you are still not convinced google the life of Job, Joseph, and Lazarus!!
The Living Bible translation words Romans 8:28 this way: “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.” The reassuring promise of this passage of text is that God works for our good “in all things”! It literally means that no matter the circumstance, there are only two qualifiers for God to be working all things together for our good.
First, He works for “the good of those who love Him.” If you love God, you can trust that He is working for your good. He loves you back, and when we love people, we seek their welfare.
Second, He works for “those who are called according to His purpose.” Picking up your cross (daily) entails submission. You have been called by God for a purpose that He holds for your life.
The words in this passage of text also suggests that these two qualifiers–loving God and experiencing His call–are actually one. Those who love God are called according to His purpose. And vice versa.
Additionally, being called according to God’s purpose also reminds us what “our good” actually is. It’s not our comfort or worldly success. It’s the furthering of His purpose in and through us our lives!
Look at it this way, because we have this assurance we can unequivocally trust that God will restore everything that was stolen. We will recover. We will bounce back. Better days are coming. Blessings are coming our way. What’s about to happen next will cause us to rejoice with jubilee! God is always up to something incredible!
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:2) #BeStrong #TGBTG #AnotherInTheFire
God didn’t just breathe life into us in the beginning (Gen 2:7). God breathes life into us every moment. When that breath from God is withdrawn, our life is over. Psalm 104:29 confirms, “When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.”
In the Gospels, both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ himself tell us that everything we have, everything we do, and everything we are is given to us from heaven—which means that it comes from the Lord our God. Jesus said this in John 15:4-5, “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
Some may not support the general claim that “without God I can do nothing” because by implication it strips away their ability to do something. Well, if that’s you, Jesus (the incarnate God) himself said this in John 5:30, “I can do nothing by Myself…..” In the latter part of this passage of text Jesus said, “I don’t seek my will, but the will of the One who sent Me.”
Hence my point; with God (His will) all things fall into place and without God (my will) things fall to pieces! I would hope you would choose the former!
Choose to live in peace and by faith. Seek forgiveness, not revenge. Live in the present, not the past. Dwelling on that which should have been and reliving past hurts will keep the negatives of the past alive and bring constant internal conflict. You deserve better! Move on! Move forward! 2 Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”
I don’t know what giant(s) you’re facing today, but I do know a God that can slay any and all giants wrecking havoc in your life!
I am talking about the same God that slayed Goliath. Yes, I know David brought the sling and 5 smooth stones from the nearby valley (I Samuel 17), but it was God’s wind that killed the giant (Jehovah Ruah).
Oops, I almost forgot to mention that David brought something else with him to the battle in the valley of Elah…..his faith in God! Some might say that it was only the anointing, but let me remind you that Saul was also anointed. God could have used Saul and yet He did not.
When David heard the smack Goliath was shouting about the God of the armies of Israel (I Samuel 17:22-24), his faith propelled him into action and the rest is his-story!
Perhaps, Jesus whispered into David’s spiritual ear what the scripture in I John 4:4 shouts into our spirits today………”But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people [giants], because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other Man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:15 NLT) #BeStrong #TGBTG #JesusIsTheOnlyCureForSin
Stop with the stinking thinking! If your memories or past don’t add value to your today or future quit thinking about it. I can assure you that God isn’t stewing on it! Paul put it this way in Philippians 3:12-14, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Please make note, the enemy uses these negative sound bytes and past clips to devalue the progression you’ve made in your life! The worst lie ever told was a partial truth and as we all know, the enemy is the father of partial truth whereas God is the Father of indefinite truth!
Unfortunately, most people find it difficult to let go of their negative past because they don’t appreciate their present. If that’s you, I encouraged you to reframe your relationship with your past and the only way to accomplish this is to stop focusing on the past! Ruminating on past hurts is the point of origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.
Paul’s (Saul) past wasn’t glorious and yet God used (inspired) him to write nearly 30% of the New Testament Gospel. With that said, he new a thing or two about the benefits of forgetting his past and pressing forward!
4GIVEN 