My sweet brother and friend, Pastor D.J. Goodman once penned a confession that I read years ago and many times after family altar, we find ourselves repeating the confession:
Everything is working for us, nothing is working against us.
How true this is to every child of God depends on the understanding of the word that we have and the level of confidence that we place on God’s. I remember leaving a job and feeling disappointed at what I was offered in the new place. I felt fooled and cheated considering my irrelevance in the new office as it was decided that I needed not know so much since I would not compromise as an accountant. Thanks to God for a Christian brother who told me that even if I made a mistake in changing my job, I should simply ask God to forgive me and watch how He would turn everything around for my good. God used that work place as a school for me to garner great computer skills that have remained an asset in my career for over 15 years!
It is clear in Rom 8:28 that God will use whatever situation and circumstances to show His greatness on behalf of the child of God. The chiselling time cannot be pleasurable not to talk of the use of sandpapers on us. If you think otherwise, let someone hit you slightly with chisel and try and rub a piece of sandpaper on your skin.
The truth however is that there is no way a piece of sculpture work can be what it should without cuts here and there, use of sandpaper, being dabbed with paints etc. as these are required to make it a cynosure for all eyes to appreciate.
A brother was very worried that his fiancée said she was leaving after about 4 years of being together. I invited them for counselling and to resolve their differences. However, a few weeks after meeting with them, she still said she had to leave the relationship. It was painful for the brother but I made him realise that God had a purpose. When you are separated painfully from a relationship, God is only trying to secure you! It is for your good! If God says you should leave that job and you refuse, His goodness may make him allow a situation where you lose the job so as to attain destiny!
Have you worked very hard thinking that you would be promoted and another person who did not sow as you got promoted instead? That is not a reason to fuss all over the place. The master who rewards adequately and equitably is God. He is only allowing the current situation to toughen you and make your testimony grand.
Are you regretting why you put in for your current course of study because of challenges with studies. Believe me, many professors once felt like quitting school but they held on and today are known worldwide for that same thing that tempted them to quit.
The writer has gone through all manner of challenges in life and can testify boldly that God is good in all situations. The believer needs to realise that it is the devil that wants us to believe otherwise.
God is so wonderful that even when He was to defeat the devil, the wicked one thought he had victory by making men to crucify the king of glory. 1Co 2:7-8 says
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
What an error! Jesus died and in His manner of making all things to work for good, Christ inherited a name that is better than all names. He became the door to the salvation and healings of the world, a pillar that the whole Christian race rests, and the monument without which no man can see the Lord and indeed the master of the universe. Phil 2:9
Beloved, do you love the Lord and are you working in the will of God in line with Rom 8:28? If no, then get reconciled to God by giving your life to Christ today. The steps are simple:
Acknowledge that you have sinned and come short of His glory. Ask for the forgiveness of your sins
Believe that Christ came to die for you and is interested in your salvation
Confess the Lordship of Jesus over your life
Desire His word. 1Pet 2:2 says “As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”
Expect His daily touch henceforth. Ps 68:19 says “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation”
Fellowship with God (in praises and worship, prayer etc.) and His other children
Everyone that has taken these steps and lives in line with the word of God is to be congratulated even though they are not exempted from the challenges of life. Knowing Christ is not a security against life storms but it is perfect security in the storms of life. The situation that the foe intends to batter you will only better you! I am writing from almost 3 decades experience of walking with God!
Have you lost a loved one? Oh what a pain! I have shed tears also in this regards before. It takes a sanctified and reflecting mind to know that in it all, God allows the best for His own. It is this understanding that makes believers to sing even when the night is so dark for they know that is the best time for faith to shine as stars!
If I were you, I will pause and say it out as loud as I can, NOTHING WORKS AGAINST ME, EVERYTHING IS WORKING FOR MY GOOD!
Naomi thought everything was against her and she decided to go back home. Did it appear reasonable for Ruth to follow the aged mother-in-law? Not at all. But the moment she told Naomi the old woman’s God would be her God, heavens opened and from then on, every step was in the right direction even till we cannot trace the source of Jesus without mentioning Ruth!
Are you facing some persecution and wondering how long it would take God to come down to aid you? Don’t give up as your miracle is on the way. Esther was ready to perish for her people, did she perish or got exalted as a result of her stand for the Lord? When Haman was planning evil and pestering Mordecai, did they know it would lead to the exaltation of the Jews?
Child of God, rejoice! That pit is not for you it is for the digger. Can you remember how God arranged it such that those that threw Daniel into the lion den were the ones that the lions devour eventually? Who got burnt, the three Hebrew boys that refused to worship the king’s idol or the men that threw them inside the fire? The stumbling blocks placed before you are stepping stones to your promotion!
God is never an author of evil. Any time the devil tries to portray Him as such, the wisdom used to ensure He proofs His greatness and goodness is by converting the evils for your good.
Congratulations. I see you walk in liberty. I see you strengthened as the joy of your salvation, the joy of God replaces your ashes. Neh 8:10.
We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labour] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Rom 8:28 Amplified Bible