Highly Favored

There is a Purpose Behind Every Problem

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (KJV)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Question to Consider:
What problem in my life has caused the greatest growth in me?
When my husband and I separated, it created a snowball effect of events that ended with joblessness and homelessness. It was the most humbling experience I’ve ever gone through. Everything in my life had changed – I felt like I was in a never-ending episode of the Twilight Zone. Nothing made sense. The level of confusion, anger, and depression I endured at that time was so great that it seemed as if everything had pushed me so near to the edge of a cliff that one slip would send me tumbling down into a bottomless pit of dispair. There were times when all I could do to keep from losing my mind, was chant “Jesus, help me…Jesus help me…Jesus…Jesus.” That’s all I had energy enough to say. And you know what? He came to my rescue before I even realized it.

I finally completely surrendered to him because there was nothing left – yes, sometimes I think God will take away everything so that you can see Him more clearly so that you can’t miss Him anymore. By the time He’s done with you, you’ll know who’s really in control – and it’s not us! When I finally said, “Okay, Lord, you’re gonna have to take this because I’m too weak to do anything about it…” that’s when he stepped in a created a whirlwind of change in my life. He changed me from the inside – the external circumstances were the same, my husband was still gone, but I was finally able to accept it and I began to believe that God clearly had something better in mind for me. The minute I stopped worrying about whether or not I was going to be alone for the rest of my life, whether or not I was ever going to find a job or get a place of my own – God changed it…for the better. My life is so much better. It’s so much better that I thank God for allowing me to go through my trials just so I could get to this point where I’m so grateful, so stronger, so much more content and patient.

He wanted to demonstrate his glory in my life – I went back to school, got a job working at the school, God worked out my circumstances so that I was able to rent a small, but decent place to live. And get this…He even fixed my marriage that seemed so doomed and irreconcilable! He breathed life into the dead bone that was my marriage and now we get along so much better. God worked all the bad that was in my life for my good – I didn’t always like it, but I couldn’t have done it on my own. Without the troubles in my life I’m certain I’d still be the immature, self-centered person I once was – but I’m so glad that’s not me anymore.

Important Quotes:
“God uses problems to draw you closer to himself…Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days – when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you’re out of options, when the pain is great – and you turn to God alone.” (Warren, 194)

“We learn things about God in suffering that we can’t learn any other way…Problems force us to look to God and depend on him instead of ourselves.” (Warren, 194)

“You’ll never know God is all you need until God is all you’ve got.” (Warren, 194)

“Everything that happens to a child of God is Father-Filtered, and he intends to use it for good even when Satan and others mean it for bad.” (Warren, 194)

“The events in your life work together in God’s plan. They are not isolated acts, but interdependent parts of the process to make you like Christ. To bake a cake you must use flour, salt, raw, eggs, sugar, and oil. Eaten individually, each is pretty distasteful or even bitter. But bake them together and they become delicious. If you will give God all your distasteful, unpleasant experiences, he will blend them together for good.” (Warren, 196)

If you’ve enjoyed the posts on this blog, please take a moment to Subscribe via RSS or Subscribe to Highly Favored by Email.