The seventh and final truth that Louie Giglio shared in his book, Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table, states:
7. My God turns evil into good.
Life doesn’t always work out as you hope. You’re living on a broken planet. But no circumstance can hinder the seeds we’ve just discussed from being cultivated in your mind. No hardship or disappointment or disease or divorce or darkness or desert can stunt the growth of godly thoughts from becoming mighty trees in your way of thinking.
So plant this in your mind: “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
I think we can all relate to this last truth. Life isn’t always easy. Our carefully made plans sometimes seem to blow up in our face and we are left stunned, frustrated and discouraged. We think we know where life is going to take us…only for it to take a drastic detour which we never saw coming.
So, what can we do when living on a broken planet is what we are destined to do? Until we walk the streets of gold, we are imperfect people living in a far from perfect world…so it is imperative that we figure out what will make a difference. Because if we as Christians don’t have a clue what can make a difference in our daily life…why would those who don’t know our Jesus want what we have?
As our truth today states, it really comes down to our mind and what we fill it with. I had something happen recently that helped me understand this concept in a practical way.
Here in the Midwest, we had a very rainy, cold, windy spring. It was miserable. We sat out at our grandsons’ baseball games with 3 layers on, including a winter coat, gloves, earmuffs and a hood. And we were still cold! We weren’t sure warm, sunny days would ever return, and I found myself becoming more and more discouraged.
Finally, a beautiful day arrived. I was so anxious to feel the sun on my face, I went outside to walk around our property. As I perused our landscaping…I was overwhelmed. Our flowers were gorgeous…even though I had been unable to do anything with them yet this year. The rose bushes were flowering, the bushes were blooming and the grass was a deep shade of green. That’s when I felt a quiet whisper from my Jesus. He said, “LuAnn, see what can happen when times have been difficult? See what can take place during those times in your life when you think the sun won’t shine again? If these beautiful flowers can bloom as a result of cold, dreary days…what more can I do in and through you when you go through a dark valley. I care much more about you LuAnn than I do those flowers…keep your eyes on me and you will see beauty again.” I then thought about the verses in Luke 12:27-28, “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown in the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?”
As Giglio said, “So plant this in your mind: “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Even in the storms…God is working. Even in the darkest valley…God is planting seeds. We need to remember that nothing we will face can stunt the growth of godly thoughts from becoming mighty trees in our way of thinking. Nothing can stop Him from making everything work together for our good and His glory.
I don’t know what you are facing today…but you may feel like all hope is lost. I’m here to remind you that there IS hope in Jesus. No matter how dark things look right now…your Savior is working behind the scenes, and He is going to make something beautiful out of these days of discouragement. Remember, He is able to do far more than we can even imagine so hold on…because I believe brighter, warmer, sunnier days are on the way
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