The Good, Bad & UglySample

All Things Are Working For Your Good

How often have you heard the statement, “All things are working for your good”? I am sure within your Christian lifetime at least once or twice you have heard it. I find it so easy to use this very statement to encourage others when bad stuff happens to them, but somehow when bad things happen, it is so tough to accept it for myself. It is never easy when going through hurts and pain, disappoints and heartbreak, loss and lack, sickness and disease and obstacles and blockages to see how on earth these tragedies are working for our good. Because the world has been broken by sin and we have an enemy of our soul, bad things will always happen as long as he (Satan) is around. Jesus’ work on the cross was powerful and empowers us to be over-comers of the evil one, but not everyone has accepted the way of Jesus hence giving the enemy ample room to spin his web of chaos and confusion still. 

Sometimes all the bad things only happen to righteous people, and the unrighteous seems to enjoy life with no problems. I am sure you also have noticed this around you, it looks like we always have a fire to put out and there is barely any breathing room between these fires that rage in our lives. These fires may come in sickness, frustration on the job or relationships and financial issues just to list a few. No matter what our age, color of our skin, status or position we all have things happening in our lives that just does not seem to line up with what God has promised. 

So how do we come to a place where we can believe the statement, “All things are working for your good”? The Bible tells us that all scripture was written to teach us so when going through tough times, we can look at the stories from the bible and find hope to go on even in our trials - (Romans 15:4 NIV). Without knowledge of the stories in the Bible, we would find ourselves at a dead end that allows the enemy to drive us to despair further. Reading the word of God and pondering on the stories will cause you to see further than your present circumstances because the word is alive and infused with the power to release hope when all seems lost. 

I’ve heard the saying, “Hindsight is always 20/20, “ and there is so much truth packed into that statement. As a child growing up in a single parent home with much neglect, later on in an alcoholic home with much abuse, a failed marriage, chasing the American dream just lost in the big city of New York and so much more, yet while facing each level of hurt and pain I could have never seen how those things could be working for my good. But as I look back I can tell you every ounce of pain, hurt, neglect, rejection, and disappointments have led me to a place of higher ground, and now with every good, bad and ugly situation that presents itself I can declare, “All things are working for my good!”