HAS SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE FAILED TO GO ACCORDING TO PLAN?
Life doesn’t always go the way we planned, does it? Something unexpected happens. We hear bad news. There is trouble at work. Cars break down. Family members say things or do things that hurt us. Someone promises something and then disappoints us…
The Bible doesn’t promise that we will never have problems … but God makes us a POWERFUL PROMISE in Romans 8:28 …that ALL THINGS work together for GOOD to those that love Him and are called to His purpose.
The only way to love Him, is to realize how unconditionally He loves us!
GOD LOVES YOU RIGHT NOW — HIS PLAN FOR YOU IS ALWAYS GOOD.
AND THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING!
I want to share with you what you can do when things don’t go your way … but first let me share with you FOUR THINGS NOT TO DO:
- DON’T GIVE IN TO ANGER. Every one of us is tempted to get mad when things don’t go our way. But anger DELAYSthe outcome we want. James 1:19 says – Anger does not achieve the righteousness of God.
NOTICE: anger doesn’t ‘achieve’… When you realize it won’t achieve anything, anger loses its control over you! We can’t control who knocks at our door, but we CAN CONTROL who we let in.
The temptation to live in anger subsides when we know God is going to work this thing out for our good.
- DON’T QUIT. If your prayer isn’t answered, what happens? You might say, “Well God, maybe it wasn’t YOUR WILLfor me to have this.” But if it wasn’t God’s will for you to have it, then why ask Him for it to begin with?
SINCE GOD’S WORD IS HIS WILL, before you ask for anything, simply find a promise for it in Scripture. The Bible tells us in 1 John 5:14-15 that if we ask anything according to His will, we can know that we have what we ask for. It’s yours. It just hasn’t shown up yet!
Resist the temptation to give up, by knowing its God’s job (and His promise) to bring it to pass!
- DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR CONFIDENCE in the GOODNESS OF GOD. We may not understand all that happens in our lives, BUT GOD IS STILL A GOOD GOD. No matter what has happened or hasn’t happened, don’t let life’s problems dictate what you are going to believe about God.
Resist the temptation to throw away your confidence that you “will see the goodness of God in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13).
- DON’T PANIC. God knows the future. He knows what He’s doing. He has already provided an answer, a solution – AN ESCAPE.
God said in Jeremiah 29:11 (Message) – “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out… plans to give you the future you hope for!“
When things don’t go your way, take a leap of faith and relax. He has a plan. Your future is bright. Its going to get better!
SO WHAT DO WE DO?
Now that you know WHAT NOT TO DO, what should you do when things go wrong?
- TRUST GOD ANYWAY! I will trust and I will not be afraid (Isaiah 12:2). Trust is a choice to BELIEVE WHAT HIS WORD SAYS. When things don’t go our way, WE TRUST HIM ANYWAY. When our plans aren’t working out, WE TRUST HIM ANYWAY.
Trusting God means believing He will keep His promise to us, even when things don’t make sense – when we don’t see things working out… we believe God is still turning things in our favor.
- GIVE GOD TIME. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, …He makes ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL IN HIS TIME. Time is on YOUR SIDE because God created time! And He is on YOUR SIDE!
There is ALWAYS enough time for God to work. No matter what bad decisions you’ve made or what the enemy has stolen from your life over the years, GOD CAN RESTORE IT ALL!
IN ONE MOMENT, God can make up for years of loss or frustration in your life!
This is YOUR MOMENT! God promises He will turn EVERYTHING that happens in our life into something GOOD. (Romans 8:28)