“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done.” (Genesis 50:20)
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15)
“It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.” (Psalm 119:71-72)
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
There are some things that happen in our lives that become a dividing line, separating what came before and what came after in an irrevocable way. Some things are good – marriage, birth, a new home and some, not so good – an accident, a death, the loss of a job, but rest assured that God is not surprised by any of the things that happen in our lives, no matter how good, no matter how bad. He is the one Who always was and always will be. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is in your future before you were ever born and he knows what it holds and how He will use it to shape and mold you for the good of His kingdom, if you will let Him.
Someone very dear to me was accused of a sickening crime. This young man is 21 years old, was in school and life was going well. Then one day his name was in the newspaper and his picture on the television. Suddenly, people who had no idea who he was and how he was were making assumptions about his character, were thinking him to be a monster, an evil person and deserving of punishment. It may not be fair that the public tries and sentences a person based only on the evening news and the spin on the story by the anchorman, but fair or not, this young man’s life will never be the same.
It will forever be before and after. And all that comes after will now be shaped by this event. We all know that bad things happen to good people, maybe even to us, but the real dividing line in these events is what you will allow Almighty God to do with your life, even your life in ruins, because He does not see ruins, He sees beauty in the ashes and joy for despair. He sees a life He can use in any way He chooses should it be yieled to the Master’s Hand, because adversity brings compassion and understanding for others; unfair treatment can make a champion for justice rise from the ashes to fight for the rights of others, or just to be a shoulder for someone else. When we walk a mile in the shoes of another we are willing to let them lean on us when we are stronger and they, weaker. The stumbling of another takes on a new meaning once you stumble yourself.
You have to be the one to decide to yield to the Lord all of your life, all of your pain, all of your joy. The after can be immeasurably more beautiful that you ever imagined.
Yours in Christ,
Sonya Richards