What the Enemy Intends for Evil
Today I want to talk about the times when it seems like everything bad is happening—and I mean seriously bad. If you have read my book you will understand what I mean. The book was born out of my experiences with many potentially life-crushing situations all happening at once. There was serious depression, divorce, stage four cancer, the bone marrow transplant, and more depression. I feel qualified to address the topic.
If we find ourselves in what seems like a series of trials I think the first temptation is to fall into feeling sorry for ourselves. I know I had to deal with this. Have you ever looked up into heaven and cried out, “Why me, God?” I will make the first confession. We have been conditioned, for whatever reason, to think someone is doing this to us or there is a reason it is happening. That may be true but not necessarily what you may think.
The first thing I want to make very clear is that God is not doing this to you. He is good and has only good things for you. The devil is the one who has come to destroy you (John 10:10). If it is bad, ultimately he is behind it. Sometimes things just happen to us because we are in a fallen world and it is just around us all the time. I do not think the devil gave me cancer. He is the author of cancer and all disease but he did not put it in me. He hasn’t the ability. When he found out about it he certainly went to work trying to convince me to die but that is his job. He will try and use any situation to destroy us but we have a God who can turn it around.
A perfect example of this is in Genesis 50:20 where Joseph reassures his brothers.
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
God is really good at taking what the enemy intends to harm us and turning it around for His glory. God is our answer, not our problem. I am continually amazed at where God has brought me through all of this. I think that if the devil had known, he would not have messed with me. I am stronger, bolder, closer to God, and wiser than I ever have been. Because I fought all this with God, instead of blaming him for it, He was able to move on my behalf.
As I was reading through the Gospels I came across the very familiar story of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. That guy was having a very bad day. I am sure he had the temptation of wallowing in self-pity and anger but what would that have gotten him? Instead, he reached out to Jesus in faith and ended that day in paradise. What started as the worst day of his life ended up as his best day because of how he responded. As they say, Selah!
The next time you are tempted to say,” This is the end, I’ll never recover”, think again. Your only option is to turn your face to God and let him turn it around. Who could have ever imagined that being crucified would turn out so well? I often say that what I went through was the making of me. God turned it around big time. He is no respecter of persons and He will do the same for you. Perhaps your tragedy is God’s right place, right time, and just needs your right decision. It is never over my friends.
