Tag Archives: everything going wrong

August 29, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Destructive Forces

One of the things I’ve learned is that destruction is part of creation. A volcano is a very destructive force. We’ve all seen videos of molten, hot lava being spewed out of a volcano. Then we see a river of lava flowing down the side burning everything in its path. Eventually that lava dries and then breaks down creating some of the richest soil on earth. When you think of places that have volcanoes, have you ever noticed how green they are? Hawaii and Fiji come to mind. Without their volcanoes, they wouldn’t be as lush as they are. The very things that appear to destroy everything are what really brings life.

In our own lives, the same principle holds true. There are things in our lives that God destroys so that He can bring new life to us. It hurts us when the lava is flowing and taking away everything that seems to matter to us, but God has a plan and a purpose. What looks like total devastation is truly a remarkable new beginning that will create a more fertile life for you. It’s painful going through the times of destruction, and many times we don’t understand why. A friend told me recently that sometimes God does the Omega in our lives before He is the Alpha. He ends things so that He can begin something new.

Proverbs 16:4 says, “The Lord works everything together to accomplish his purpose” (TPT). There is purpose in everything that happens in our lives. God has a plan to redeem, restore and to recreate. He is a gardener who loves to grow things in our lives. The best things in our lives are produced from the richest soil. The richest soil is produced through destructive forces. If you’re going through a period of destruction, hold on to your faith and trust God’s plan. Greater things are coming that will be beautiful in time. God will accomplish His plan for your life. It’s a good plan that is full of life and fertile soil.

Photo by Toby Elliott on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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March 4, 2024 · 5:24 AM

Blown Off Course

Have you ever tried to accomplish something, but keep running into roadblocks? No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t keep things going in the right direction. If it could go wrong, it went wrong. In the end, you either gave up or finished nowhere near where you wanted to. You can either cry, complain or make the best of it. Things like this happen to me, especially when I’m trying to do what God has asked me to do. I’ll ask God why I’m going through so much trying to accomplish His will. I’ll even wonder if I heard Him correctly. In the end, I’ve learned to accept that God can make something good out of all my struggles. Even when it feels like I’ve failed or missed the objective, when I hand Him the reigns, He accomplishes more than I thought even in my perceived failures.

In Mark 6 Jesus had just fed the 5,000 families with the five loaves and two fish. Before He sent the crowd away, He sent the disciples across the lake and told them to go to Bethsaida on the northwest side. As they were on their way, they were hit with a sudden storm. The winds picked up and tossed the boat like it was going to be flipped over. The waves crashed against the boat threatening their lives. Verse 48 says they were straining with the oars trying to keep moving. Around three o’clock in the morning, Jesus came walking on the water to them in the middle of their struggle. When they choose to let Him in the boat, the winds stopped and they continued their journey landing at Gennesarat on the north east side. They missed their destination even with Jesus in the boat. However, the chapter ends with them ministering there and making a difference in the lives of the people in the wrong destination.

Psalm 37 is packed with wisdom, especially if your life feels like it’s been blown off course. Verse 5 says, “Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!” (TPT) There are two hard things for anyone to do in this verse to receive this promise. We must give God the right to direct our life accepting His desires over our own. We must also trust Him along the way in the middle of the storms when everything feels like it is against us. We just have to keep straining at the oars to keep it moving. Let Him worry about the destination. He can accomplish great things through us even at the wrong destination. He can make something good out of the times in our life when everything seems to be working against us trying to blow us off course. He is the one who causes everything to work together for good no matter when you feel like you didn’t reach your destination.

Photo by Aneta Hartmannová on Unsplash

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December 7, 2021 · 5:49 AM

Being Rerouted

Have you ever been trying to do something or go somewhere, but it seemed you were blocked at every turn? Maybe you hit every red light or traffic seemed to be stopped no matter which way you tried to go. Im the type that it makes me try harder to get where I’m going. I start thinking if I should run a red light in order to break the cycle of reds. Or I look for crazier ways to get where I’m going rather than the traditional ones. I become a man on a mission. What if it wasn’t the universe conspiring against you? What if it was God trying to prevent you for your own good?

In Numbers 22:21-39, Balaam decided to go with the king’s men when they wouldn’t take no for an answer. The Bible says that God put an angel in the road to oppose him. The donkey saw the angel and turned off into a field. Balaam beat his donkey and forced it back on the road. Then the angel stood in a narrow pathway. The donkey pressed up against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot. He then began to beat the donkey with his staff. That’s when the donkey spoke up and asked what he had done to get beaten so badly. Balsam told the donkey he wanted to kill him. That’s when God opened his eyes to see the angel.

In A te 16:6-10 Paul was prevented several times from going where he thought God was leading him. Instead of trying to keep going, he tried somewhere else. Finally he had a vision of a man from Macedonia asking for him to go there. Verse 10 says, “So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there” (NLT). Roadblocks may actually be God trying to reroute you. Instead of getting angry or more stubborn, try asking God if there’s somewhere else you’re supposed to go. He’s got a plan for you and will do what it takes to get you there. Listening to His voice and following His lead is much easier than fighting against Him.

Photo by Robert Linder on Unsplash

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October 25, 2016 · 5:51 AM

Storms Are Temporary


One of my favorite stories when I was younger was “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”. Back then, I thought it was hilarious, but now I can relate. If you’ve lived, you’ve experienced days like Alexander. But what happens when the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day turns into a week, a month, or even longer? How do we respond? How do we recover? How do we survive? Periods of things seemingly always going wrong in our lives can be relentless, but they do come to an end.

When they do occur, I recommend going back to God’s Word. When we go through days, weeks, or months of things going wrong, we risk thinking that those circumstances are our truth. We begin to think that this is how life is and will be for us. That’s why it’s so important to force yourself to go back to God’s Word. It alone is your truth. You can’t afford to let those storms define you. Instead, let God’s Word define your storm.

One of the things I pray over people going through rough times is that God would silence the storm. I also pray that if the storm isn’t over, to give them peace in it until it passes. Hard times play a huge role in your development. It’s part of the growing process and the solidifying process. God uses them to place you on a path you could never get on otherwise, and He uses them to cause your roots to grow deeper into Him. Spending time in prayer will help this process. Prayer puts God and your storm in their proper places and helps you keep perspective as to which is bigger.

There’s an Irish proverb that says, “In times of trouble, friends are recognized.” In your hardest times, it’s important to surround yourself with friends who can pray for you, encourage you, and help you win the mental battle. Your true friends will shine in these times of your life. They’ll walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death with you. They’ll defend you while you are defenseless. If you don’t see friends coming to you, they may not see the storm you’re facing. Go to those you can confide in and find shelter. If they don’t know you’re struggling and in a storm, it’s unfair to expect them to help you.

Remember that according to Romans 8:37, you are more than a conqueror through Jesus. In Ephesians 6:10-18, you have been given armor to help you to continue to stand after you e given it your all. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus told Peter that all the powers of hell would not conquer His Church. As a Christian, you have all three of these promises to hold onto. You cannot be defeated unless you give up. You are guaranteed victory, but you have to stay in the battle to achieve it. Your terrible, horrible, no good very bad time will end and you will emerge victorious. Focus on what’s eternal (God’s Word), and lose sight of the temporal (your storm).

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