WORKING FOR MY GOOD!

No matter how successful we are, we all face challenges in life. We sometimes encounter tough times and times when things may not go as we envisage, but God has a plan. With God on our side, it will work for our good! We can allow challenges to strengthen us instead of weaken us. The good news I have for you today is that no matter where you are or what challenges you are facing, you can start living your best life now. The scripture says “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  Romans 8:28

God knows your life from the beginning to the end. He knows where the dead ends are, where the shortcuts are, and where the bumpy roads are that will cause you heartache and pain. Life is full of things that we don’t like. Challenges, disappointments, maybe a friend betrays you, you didn’t get the promotion or experiencing a closed door!

The first thing that comes to mind is seeing these things as being negative, thinking that your prayers didn’t get answered. It’s easy to get discouraged and lose your passion, but God won’t allow challenges unless He is going to somehow use them for your good. That means everything that happens in life, you may not understand, but if you will keep the right attitude, it will push you further into your destiny. It will all wok for your good!

The closed doors, the delays, that person that did you wrong, God says, it’s working for your good. I’m in control. It may not feel good, but if you will trust me, I’m going to use it to work for your own good. When you understand this principle, life gets much better. You don’t get upset when a coworker makes jest of you. You know it’s working for your good. God allowed it, and He is going to use it for your good. You tried, and the business didn’t make it. You don’t give up on your dreams. You know it’s working for your good. It’s a part of the process.

Simple things like getting stuck in traffic. You don’t get frustrated and let it ruin your day. You know that God is directing your steps. He may be keeping you from an accident. He may be developing patience in you. Whatever it is, keep the right perspective knowing that it’s working for your good. This also comes down to trusting the Lord to take charge of anything that concerns you. 

We are not going to understand everything that happens. If you try to figure it all out, then you will get frustrated. But God can see the big picture for our lives. He will close doors that we prayed would open because He knows it’s going to be a waste of time. When you are mature, instead of getting bitter when things don’t work out, you will say, God, I trust You. I may not like it, but I believe You know what’s best for me.

Some of the things God has in your future, if He gave them to you right now, you couldn’t handle it. He loves you too much to let it happen. He is developing your character, growing you up. That person who gets on your nerves doesn’t treat you right, and you keep trying to pray him or her away. The reason that person is not going away is because God is using him or her like sandpaper to rub the rough edges off you. As you keep doing the right thing, keeping your mouth closed, being respectful, that’s doing a work in you. You couldn’t develop your character without Him. You may not like it, but it’s all working for your good. It’s getting you ready for the next level.

God is asking, do you trust me with your closed doors? Do you trust me with your unanswered prayers, with the things you don’t understand? I have learned God’s ways are always perfect. Sometimes we are so set on having it in a certain way that we are disappointed if it doesn’t happen. The right way to pray is, “God, this is what I want. This is what I’m believing for, but God, do what is best for me. I trust You”. 

If you are only going to be happy when God answers your prayers in a certain way, then you are not trusting Him. You are not praying, you are giving God orders. But when you develop this trust, you let God do it His way. You know it’s all working for your good. If the door opens, you thank Him. If it doesn’t open, you still thank Him. Whatever happens, we can say, it’s all working for our good.

Our main scripture says “And we know that all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28) Not some things, but all things. Now, they may not be good at that moment. It hurts when people do us wrong. Discouraging when a dream doesn’t work out. By itself, that may not be good, but God promises He is going to bring it all together for our good. One day you will look back and say that was good after all.

I read about this couple… Every week, they would go to the hospital to visit and encourage people. Just like God told me to visit and pray with people at the hospital during the peak of COVID-19… And I was told by some people that I was testing God… You can check out the details in one of my books (How to receive and retain the fire of the Holy Ghost). In the case of this couple, the man had just parked his car and was walking across the street to the main entrance. This car came around the corner speeding, almost out of control, and hit the man. It knocked him over the car and to the pavement. 

They rushed him to the emergency room and discovered that he had bleeding on his brain. They had to take a full body scan to see if anything else was injured. They were looking for broken bones or any bleeding. That was all fine, but they noticed a tumour on his kidney. When they did a biopsy, they found it was cancer.

A few days later, after the bleeding stopped, he had surgery to remove the kidney. Everything went fine and he became cancer-free. The doctor told him if they had not found that tumour, there was a good chance it would have spread to other parts of the body and his life would have been threatened. What started as a horrible car wreck turned out to be a life-saving incident.

IT MAY SEEM BAD!

Beloved, it is all working for your good. It may seemed bad at that time, doing a good deed and getting hit by a car. Yes, it’s not from God but He allowed it to happen. God doesn’t allow anything that He can’t bring good out of. We don’t always see it. You may be thinking, “pastor my challenges haven’t done anything but pull me down”. Maybe you don’t see the good yet, but you don’t know what God is doing behind the scenes. This is where faith comes in. Don’t get discouraged. God knows what He is doing. If you keep honouring Him and being your best, then God will open doors that no man can shut.

When adversity comes, we either get negative and live bitter, or we can say, “God, I trust You. You know what is best for me, even when I don’t understand it. I believe, that when it all comes together, it’s going to work for me and not against me”. If you want to start living your best life, then you need to remember these words: “It’s all working for my good”.

“Well, pastor, I don’t like the people I work with or the people in my area. They are negative, they gossip, and they compromise. When is God going to move me out”? Maybe God has you there on purpose to let your light shine. Maybe He is counting on you to be a good influence on them.

Quit fighting everything you don’t like. Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a good person are ordered by the Lord”. If God has you there, He has ordered your steps. The delays, the inconveniences, the unfair situations, you may not like it, may be uncomfortable, but instead of resisting it, why don’t you embrace it? Saying, “God, this is where you have me right now, so I’m going to be my best. I’m going to keep a good attitude. I may not like it. It may feel bad, but I know a secret. It’s all working for my good”. It’s not working against you, it’s working for you.

How could Betrayal, cheating, loneliness or challenges be good? These questions make me think about Good Friday. We call it good now, but more than 2,000 years ago, when Jesus was crucified, it didn’t look like a good Friday. The disciples thought it was the worst day of their lives. Their dreams were shattered. The man they had devoted their lives to was gone. Doubts filled their mind. Maybe He wasn’t who He said He was. Maybe He tricked us. Maybe we wasted all this time.

You can imagine Mary, the mother of Christ, weeping as she sees her son hanging on the cross. She is heartbroken and in so much pain. If someone had suggested, Mary, this is a good Friday, she would have thought they had lost their mind. What do you mean this is good? Look at what’s happening. We all face these times when life doesn’t make sense. A dream dies, a relationship ends or an illness. Nothing about the situation seems good. Good would be the last word we would use to describe this Friday. A more accurate description would be Tragedy Friday. Betrayed Friday. Cruel Friday. Lonely Friday. (Matthew 27-28)

When you are in the heat of the battle, it’s easy to get discouraged. The disciples could have said, God, why did you let Judas betray Him? Why did you let the soldiers crucify Him? Why did you abandon Him in His greatest time of need? But a few days later, when Jesus arose from the dead and appeared to them and even cooked breakfast for them on the beach, they realized that He was who He said He was.

Jesus did what He said He was going to do. He defeated the enemy and brought salvation to mankind. They looked back on that Friday and said, it wasn’t what we thought. It wasn’t depressing Friday. It wasn’t a tragic, it wasn’t an evil Friday. It was all a part of God’s plan. It was Good Friday. What they thought was the worst day of their lives, they looked back and called it good.

What am I saying? It’s all going to work for your good. It may not be good right now, and may not make sense on its own, but God knows how to bring it all together. What you think is going to stop you, set you back, cause you heartache, can I tell you, if you will stay in faith, one day you will look back and say, this was good. You may not be able to see it right now, but one day, you will. 

When God vindicates you, heals you, promotes you, restores you, when He prepares a table for you in the presence of your enemy, He pays you back double for that challenge, that is what turns defeated Friday into Good Friday. No more betrayed Friday, disappointed Friday. Now it’s blessed Friday, joyful Friday, and victorious Friday.

I’m asking you to trust Him. It may be Friday in your life and no reason to call it good, but don’t worry, Sunday morning is coming. Resurrection morning is approaching. God is still on the throne. Maybe you are dealing with an illness or struggling in a relationship. You have people coming against you. It feels dark, lonely, discouraging. You don’t see how it could ever work out. Stay in faith; God is fighting your battles! 

New beginnings are on the way. There is a resurrection and restoration ahead of you. God wouldn’t have allowed the adversity if it wasn’t going to move you forward. I decree and declare, that for everything that was meant to stop you, God is going to use it to push you forward. He is bringing it all together for your good right now in Jesus’s name. Now, go out and live your best life!

The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’