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Is Everything According To God's Plan?
by Annagail Lynes If everything is according to God's plan, does that mean that everything that occurs is a part of His plan? Including sickness? Natural disasters? War? In Romans, the writer of chapter eight, verse twenty-eight tells us all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Now unless we have accepted what Jesus did on the Cross, we are not partakers of this promise. Jesus died for everyone who ever lived, is living and will live. Adam and Eve allowed sin to enter the world through their disobedience (Genesis 3). In response, God sent, His Son, Jesus, to Earth. Jesus' mission? To take everyone's sins on the cross (John 3:16). Not only did He die for our sins, but He gave us the whole salvation package--healing, prosperity, redemption and so much more. When we accept what Jesus did , then we become adopted children of the Most High God (Romans 8:15). Now what does the Bible say about His children? It says our steps are ordered by the Lord (Psalms 37:23). It says that everything we do will prosper (Deuteronomy 28:8). It says that everything will work for our good because we are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Remember the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-42)? Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, had been sold into slavery by his brothers, who didn't much care for him. After all, their Dad seemed to love Joseph more than them, and Joseph gave Dad bad reports about their activities in the fields. Joseph kept having dreams, where his brothers bowed down to him. Joseph could have kept it to himself, but no, he told his brothers, almost as if to flaunt it in front of their faces. Fed up, his brothers decided that the dreamer had to go. They intended to kill him, but they change their minds when a caravan of Ishmaelites came by. Instead they exchanged him for money. Joseph soon rose to the position of second-in-charge after being bought by Potipher, the captain of Pharaoh's army. Then when he refused to sleep with Potipher's wife, she accused him of sexually assaulting her. Potipher believed his wife and threw Joseph in prison, where Joseph rose to second-in-charge of the prison under the warden. While in prison, he interpreted the dreams of two men--Pharaoh's butler and baker The butler performed his duties as he did before after the warden released him. He forgot about Joseph. The Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, experienced disturbing dreams that no one could interpret. Suddenly, the butler remembered Joseph. Once Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh's dreams, Pharaoh pardoned Joseph and promoted Joseph to the second highest position in Egypt. He reported only to Pharaoh himself. Seven years of prosperity came and went. In that time, Joseph set aside food because he knew from Pharaoh's dreams that after the good years would be seven lean years. When everyone else in the neighboring lands had no food, Egypt had plenty. So much that people came from far away places to buy food from Joseph, including the brothers that sold him into slavery. Now was that God's plan for Joseph all along? To be sold into slavery? No. To be accused of rape? No. However, God used those things, which the devil mean for Joseph's destruction, and turned them around for Joseph's good and the good of his family. In the book of Ruth, Ruth, a Moabitess, married into a Hebrew family, but her husband, along with her father-in-law and brother-in-law, died. Naomi, her mother-in-law, decided to return to her homeland. The two daughters-in-law tagged along until Naomi insisted they return to their own lands. Ruth refused. Ruth and Naomi settled in Naomi's land, but they were low on funds and food. Ruth took Naomi's advice and went behind the harvest collectors and picked up the grain they missed. The collectors' boss noticed her and told his crew to purposely leave food for her to pick up. This man, Boaz, turned out to be related to her mother-in-law's family. He could step in and buy their land and marry Ruth. Only another man, a closer relation, stood between Ruth, Boaz and happily ever after. The other man wanted the land but not Ruth. Upon gaining permission from the other man, Boaz married Ruth himself. He cared for her, Naomi and their land. Ruth became pregnant with their son, Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of King David, whose lineage produced Jesus. Now did God want Naomi and Ruth to lose their husbands? No. Did He want them to suffer? No. However God use their circumstances to bless them and to turn their situation around. God can do the same for us. He doesn't cause the bad things to happen in our lives. God, just like He did in the lives of Ruth and Joseph, though, can turn our situations around for the good of everyone concerned. We must trust that God loves us and that He doesn't want to harm us but prosper us. Many of the problems in our lives are caused by our choices and those of others. Others are caused because we have no idea what God wants us to have. To really know what God promises us, we need to read our Bible. After we read what God promises, we must believe that God loves us. Believing God loves us is the key. If we don't believe God loves us, we won't believe that we are blessed, healed or prosperous already through the shed blood of Jesus. We will never be truly obedient to God if we don't. Obedience and blessings are the results of believing God loves us. Then everything will work out for our good. Not because we earned it but because we believed God loves us no matter what we say or do. Then everything will work out for our good. Annagail Lynes is a pharmacy technician, certified life coach and ordained minister. She is helping people move forward after trauma by helping them discover their purpose. Follow her blog at 316counseling.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |