Bad Turned Good - Favorite Verses 4
We have all had bad things happen in our lives, and we have all had good things happen. Sometimes these things will happen within minutes of each other. Life is full of ups and downs. Most days feel like we’re riding a roller coaster and have to hold on for dear life. Well, what about those seasons in life where it just feels like everything around you is bad? If something good is going to happen any time soon, you don’t know what it would be. Perhaps your teenage daughter or son is straying from what you taught them, your finances are in a mess and have put you so far in the hole you can’t even see any light, you got a health diagnosis that has a deadly outcome, or the romance in your marriage is completely gone and you feel it can never be re-sparked. Can God make something good out of these scenarios?
This is the last week of my favorite verses series, and I did not pre-plan this series the way I usually do. I began the series and about the second week I sat down and picked out my last 3 verses. As I was flipping through my Bible and searching for the verses that mean the most to me right now, I noticed every verse had to do with what I learned while my husband was sick with cancer. I did not plan for this series to be about this topic, it just happened. God had bigger plans than my own. The same way He had bigger plans for our family while my husband was sick.
When Doug, my husband, was diagnosed with cancer, it was devastating for all of our family. Our perfect little family of four was shaken to the core. The man we all centered around was diagnosed with cancer, had to receive harsh chemo for 8 months, and then endured 22 radiation treatments. Then after a few months of no treatments he had to endure it all over again when his cancer returned, receiving even harsher chemo, a stem cell transplant, and ending with immunotherapy. I will leave out all the other procedures and side effects he fought through during this process. Let’s just say there were days that were so dark and scary, all I could do was stand in my shower and pray as I finally allowed myself to cry where no one would see me.
This was a time in my life where I did not know the ending. I did not know if I would ever see Doug healthy again. I did not know if Doug would one day walk Emma, our daughter, down the aisle at her wedding. I did not dare dream of seeing our 50th wedding anniversary. I did not know all these things, but God did. Not only did He know the answer to these questions, but He also knew because of our experiences and perseverance, these things would be even better than before.
Bad things happen in our lives because we live in a fallen world. Our world is not perfect. Even though we feel like it expects us to be perfect, it is far from it. There are hurting people everywhere, every minute of the day. God does not put blindfolds on and ignore the fact that this world is full of hurt. He does the exact opposite. He takes our hurt and makes something beautiful out of it.
God did not make Doug have cancer, but He did plan for it. His omniscient, know-it-all power, knew what our family would go through. God knows everything. He knows before it happens, while it is happening, and knows the end result. His knowledge is immediate, instantaneous, comprehensive, and fully retentive. God’s omniscience is not theological or philosophical—it’s relational and personal. He knows what each of us needs individually and adapts our inner most being to conform to these circumstances. This adaptation only happens when we rely on Him fully. Because of my perfectionist mentality, I was not used to adapting to my circumstances. I always adapted my circumstances to me instead of the other way around. I had to give up my control and rely on God through Doug’s years of being sick. When I gave up the control, God performed not only a miracle in Doug’s body but in my heart also. God matured me so much I was like a brand new person. Once you fully surrender yourself to God, the way I had to, there is no going back. You see the good that comes from complete surrender and you cannot live any other way.
Through that time, God called me to teach and write. He molded me into a woman that lives for Him each day instead of a woman that only lived and breathed for my family. I was a Christian before but I was a Christian that set terms around my husband, my children, and myself. Now don’t get me wrong, I still adore them to the moon and back, but they are now placed a little below my Lord and Savior. God took me out of my comfort zone and showed me I could accomplish way more than my perfectionist mind would allow me to. He showed me that life is not about accomplishing something the way I see but by accomplishing something in His eyes. Accomplishment to Him is just saying “yes” and surrendering to His will. You don’t have to be the next biggest thing to be accomplished. Surrender was something that was extremely difficult for me before. I doubted everything because I worried it would not be perfect. I still struggle with that issue, but you can bet God is still working on me. I am assured now that no matter what happens in this world, God can make something good out of it if you are leaning on Him and surrendering to Him the whole way through. I could go on and on with the ways God made something good out of our circumstance, but you would be reading all day.
I encourage you to look at your current circumstances and ask God to show you how He is making something good out of them. If you ask, He will open your eyes to His love, comfort, generosity, and peace. Find the little things. Maybe He opened up a parking space just for you, or showed love through a friend’s note, brought a devotional to your inbox that spoke His Words, or maybe you see His power through hearing the birds chirp outside on a sunny morning. God is everywhere around us, in the good and the bad. Surrendering to Him and His ways gives us an inkling of His power so that we can endure whatever comes our way.
Digging Deeper:
Read my favorite Psalm. Psalm 139.
What bad circumstance are you going through right now?
How do you see God carrying you through it?
Pray and ask God if you are surrendering to Him the way you should be. Ask God to mature you through your circumstances so that you may persevere until the end.