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"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)
Some of the insurance commercials on TV are hilarious. I laugh every time when watching the Progressive Insurance commercials where the man is trying to help a younger group to not become just like their parents. The Geico Commercials are funny as well. In one Geico commercial, there is a group of four teenagers trying to escape from their would-be killer. There is a car only a few feet away with the keys in it. All they must do is get in and drive away to safety. But they decide instead to run back into a barn where all these weapons are at the disposal of their would-be killer. And to make matters worse, he is in the barn standing right behind where they decide to go and hide. I want you to choose the obvious path to escape, to freedom, to victory. It is an open Bible, ready for you to dive in.
Romans 8 is awesome. The entire chapter is power-packed and full of truth that you can read and then apply to the lies the devil tells you, others tell you, or your own mind tells you. Read and soak in the truth of Romans 8:28-30:
"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. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
When God says "all things", He means all things. He has the power to take what was meant to harm us and turn it around so it makes us stronger and empowers us to help others who will go through the same things. God loves you. If you are doing your best to live out His purposes for your life, your family, your job, your church, then relax. God has got this.
I am a person of words. My love language is words of affirmation. I have had many curses spoken over and into my life that I had to overcome. By God's grace, I continue to win victories over the curse of words. I love how God speaks truth into my life through His Word. He also uses others to speak truth to me that overpower the lies others have said. At my graduation with my master's degree from seminary, a close family member said, "Hey, getting your master's degree is good, but when you get that PhD, then you will really have something." That was hard to hear. It hurt, because I had just wrapped up four very rigorous years of study and preparation for the ministry. But God used those words as motivation for me to apply to the PhD program and get after it. It was a Genesis 50:20 moment for me. "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." God brings things about! What did I do? I enrolled in the PhD program, no small feat with German examinations, GRE tests, GPA requirements, etc. I managed to get in and then spent five years working on the degree until I finally finished it in May 1995. The words my father-in-law spoke over me came to pass ten years later: "Dan, you are like a pit-bull dog with a rag in its mouth. You will not let go."
God takes our mess, the hurt we endure, even the poor choices we make, and He creates a message and masterpiece from it. I know some cannot see it right now. You may think there is absolutely no way anything good could possibly come out of what you are going through. I humbly share with you: hang in there, wait, trust God. He is up to something right now. You will see it in time.
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