“We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
Romans 8:28 (NLT) Life often brings you matters that are difficult to swallow, like a sickness, a job loss, or the death of a friend or family member. Those pills are bitter going down, and we often choke on them. But you can rest assured that God is up to something good in your life, even if you can’t see it. God is actively working to bring good out of whatever happens in or around you. To hold on to hope in the midst of tough times, you’ll need to grab hold of this truth. The Bible says it this way: “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). The Bible isn’t saying that every event in your life will be good. You and I both know that’s just not true. But it does say that when you put your whole life together, every piece of it works together for good. It’s like making a cake. You may not like the taste of each ingredient, but when it’s all put together, you can’t resist it. God wants to bake an amazingly tasty cake with your life, and he wants to use even the distasteful and bitter elements to do it. God doesn’t promise that everything will work together like you want it to or that every story will have a happy ending. The reality is that not every business decision will make you a million dollars. Not every couple that gets married will live happily ever after. Not every child will become captain of the football team. Instead, the verse reminds us that we can have absolute confidence that the Master Designer of the universe “causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.” (Notice that this promise is for “those who love God,” not for people who don’t know God yet.) Hope isn’t the same as optimism. It isn’t the belief that something bad will turn out well. It’s the absolute confidence that every part of your life ultimately will make sense, regardless of how it turns out this side of eternity. From our vantage point, life looks like a mess at times. But God’s view from heaven isn’t the same as ours. You can’t even imagine the good that God has in store for your future. God promises, “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NCV). Your future is in God’s hands—and there’s no better place for it to be.
0 Comments
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (NIV) God’s standards never change: Premarital sex is unacceptable. It always has been. It always will be. Living together without getting married is unacceptable to God. It always has been. It always will be. Adultery—being unfaithful in your marriage—is unacceptable to God. It always has been. It always will be. Pornography is unacceptable to God. It always has been. It always will be. But if you’ve been guilty of one of those sins, that’s not the end of your story. God gives you a chance to come clean and start over. How do you do that? Repent. Repent means “to change your mind.” You say, “You were right, God. I was wrong. What I did was sin.” You don’t rationalize your sin or excuse it. The most important part is, you do this now. If you’re currently in the middle of an affair, end it today. Receive forgiveness. God is waiting to forgive, cleanse, and restore you. He’ll release you from the shame, regrets, hidden hurts, and pain that come from your sin so you don’t carry them into your next relationship. God wants to wipe the slate clean. The good news is, once he’s forgiven you, you can forgive yourself. Refocus and replace. You make a commitment to live morally pure by God’s standard from this day forward. That means having sex only with the person you’re married to. Request help daily. Commit your life to Christ (if you haven’t already). Ask him to help you manage your mind, because you know that your decisions about sex start with the way you think. Don’t just ask him for help for the next week or the next month. Ask him for help every day—even minute by minute as you fight to stay sexually pure. Your sexual drive can destroy you if you let it. It’s your choice! Choose to repent and receive God’s forgiveness today. God will give you a fresh start and will even bless your future relationship when you follow him in faith. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|