July 26, 2019
The Terminix rep sat at my kitchen table. “I have good news and not so good news,” he said.
Gulp. I braced myself. I called him because I had some bites that could be from those pesky insects. And since I travel often, they could have hitched a ride in my suitcase.
“Good news,” he said, “you don’t have bed bugs. But not so good news is we inspected and you have no protection against termites.”
Yikes! Forget the bed bugs, termites that could eat up my house is a bigger problem and a greater threat. I signed up for their plan faster than you can say bugs.
Isn’t that like life? We drown in tears because of an ugly situation, painful and unexpected. But God is in the background using that very situation to work something beautiful. He’s using it as a path to bring about greater changes and before you know it, that problem was a blessing in disguise.
Five Ways
Here are five ways God might be crafting that transformation:
- When relationships fall apart, God may not restore and heal. Instead, He might be in the process of a make-over of our heart. He might be cleaning stuff that tainted our life. He might be pointing ways to increase our wisdom and preparing us for something lasting and real.
- When our children grow up and grow distant, following the wrong path, rather than bringing them back when we expect, our freedom might be what God has prepared instead. The freedom from worry by surrendering each child to Him and placing them in His capable hands.
- When financial problems don’t end, God might not wipe out our debt, but might invite us to bring to Him the first fruits of our labor and to see how much He can provide.
- When life’s losses devastate us, God might not bring back what we lost, but increase our dependence on Him to receive His comfort and peace.
- When the doctor gives us bad news, God’s healing might not happen yet. Instead, He might be working in us a deeper trust, a genuine confidence in Him and boldness to believe He has the answers when doctors don’t.
God has answers that are eternal.
Difficult circumstances demand solutions that are temporary, but God has the answers that are eternal. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
Each problem is a blessing when we look for the lesson. When we hear His message. When we appreciate the change. And when we believe that, in Christ there is no problem without a purpose. No sorrow without His comfort, no setback without a solution and no tragedy without His triumph.
Let’s Pray
Father, thank You for your patience with me. Thank You for showing me to look beyond the circumstance and see Your mighty hand at work to bring greater things. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Which of your problems can be turned to a blessing for you?
Janet
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You are so awesome, such an encouragement to me!!
Thank you so much, Cathy. Please know that precious comments like yours brighten my day and encourage me immensely.
Blessings to you, dear Cathy!
Janet
Janet, this post remind me of a friend who had a problem that turned into a huge blessing! He had a failing heart and ended up going and getting a valve replacement. He was in his 40s and a single Dad and he thought, what the heck?! This can’t happen to me! This is horrible news! A year passed since he had had his new heart valve “installed.” He went for his yearly check-up to see how the valve was doing and when they put him into the scan to look at the valve, they saw an aneurysm right next to his heart! It was huge and ready to burst which would have surely resulted in death. He was rushed to emergency surgery where they repaired the artery by placing a sleeve over the weakened area. Now, had he NOT have needed his dreaded valve replacement a year prior he probably would have never learned about the aneurysm. So, the heart valve replacement was actually a HUGE blessing in disguise! I think of him and his story often when I don’t understand God’s plan in my life. What good may come of this? And sometimes it takes YEARS to see Him at work and get the full picture!
Thank you, Tricia for sharing. Yes, God’s ways to bless us come in so many different ways…we only discover them in His perfect timing.
May He surprise you with a blessing today. Janet