THINGS WILL NOT ALWAYS TURN OUT AS YOU THINK!

The title of this exhortation is part of an admonition I received from God early this morning (May 31, 2010).  He awakened me at 2:00 a.m. and I was speaking in tongues.  I  know God is going to speak to me when He speaks first in tongues. His exact words were:  “Things will not always turn out as you think they will.  Always remember, God knows best!!!”

My mind immediately turned to my prayers of the night before and the many other prayers I have been praying. After deep thought, I knew this rule is an absolute for our walk with God. He is telling us not to let disappointment rule in our lives, but to walk by faith in the knowledge that God knows best!  We are to acknowledge that God knows best and will work together for our good in all things. I realized that this injunction is a rule for God’s children when we are “disappointed.” “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The wisdom and truth of what we believe can change our lives forever!  Do we believe that our Savior will lift us from “disappointment” and evil into a life of freedom and perfect love? Do we believe it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us His kingdom and all the inheritance, authority and power of that kingdom?  Do we trust Christ to live out His plans and purposes through us?  His plans have been individually designed and ordained for each of His children.  No one can remove us from God’s hands. As long as we remain in God’s hands and obey His commands, God fully protects us. Why then do we fear when our God is near? Always remember that God knows what is best for us!!

If we will not allow “disappointment, failure, and setbacks” to rob us, we can be lifted by faith and trust in God into His presence and divine works. God does know what is best in every situation.  He is all-wise and all-knowing.  His ways are perfect!  Every “trial” is for our good because God promised that “all things” will work together for our good.  “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).  Will we believe God or that voice of unbelief that comes from satan? If we are to live in harmony with God’s higher plans and purposes,  we must allow God’s wisdom, understanding, and foreknowledge to become ours. Never look on the dark side (God is not there), but look on the side of faith and trust in the love and goodness of God for His children. You will find God awaiting your faith, to move your mountains.

We must remember at all times that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).  We must continually seek the “mind” and wisdom” of God to fulfill His righteousness. The Bible teaches us the ways and truth of God.  Christ is our reservoir of all knowledge and understanding, and He imparts to us all that we need to live a Godly life and to glorify Him in all things.  

God tells us to press toward the “high” calling of God.  We generally do not know the high purpose of God for our lives until we begin to seek after God. As we seek Him, the Spirit begins to lead us to a “higher plane” where God’s wisdom, thoughts, and  plans are revealed. We know we are ready for “graduation” from one plateau of learning to another, when we hear God say, “My child, come up higher!”  To me, those words are  the most sought after words to a child of God.  It means that a “new door and greater opportunities” for knowing and understanding God are being given to us. “Higher is the only direction for reaching God!”

God loves us and has planned our steps to lead us to His “high calling!” Unless, we make our flesh follow the Spirit of God and obey God’s commands and purposes for us, we will never fulfill His “high calling.” The future God has planned for us must be number “one” in our lives. Otherwise, our fleshly mind, heart, and desires will never follow God to the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus!” We must fill ourselves with the Spirit of God by loving and living in God’s presence. “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1).

He will never cast aside as unimportant any prayer of a child of God.  “Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31).  God always weighs our requests against what is “best for us” now and in the future.  We often live for just the moment and totally disregard our future in God. God says, “He will work all things together for good to them that love him and walk according to his purposes.” God’s promises to us are contingent upon our obedience to His will.

God has the past, present, and our future in mind when He talks about our “good.”  When we seek His purposes, He takes the building blocks we give Him and they become stepping stones to the “high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” God can take our mistakes and turn them into a valuable learning experience that can be used for God’s glory. Mistakes can only be made glorious if we repent of the evil and ask God to use our sins to change and strengthen us for His good and glory. God is in the business of destroying the works of satan and it is our “calling” to do God’s work. God alone can turn  evil into good! Satan uses sin to destroy the creation of God, but God uses it to reach down to sinful man and recreate his nature and make him a child of the living God. Imagine!! Born in sin and through Christ recreated in the image of God!  Born to destruction and raised to walk in the “high calling of God!” All the promises of God hinge on our acceptance of Christ and choosing to walk with God.  We choose the foundation of our life and the building blocks we will use! The choice of destination is up to us. “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

God takes us from the bondage of sin and delivers us in Christ to a life filled with God’s freedom, miraculous blessings, and gifts. He gives a future filled with glorious hope and a future designed by God. We are making our earthly decisions, not for the moment, but for eternity.  His truth awakens us to unlimited possibilities and abundant life.

I have lived eighty-five years in this world. Twenty-three years were lived on the borderline of a divided heart and total dedication.  Then, I heard an inescapable call of total surrender to God or “emptiness, nothingness, and uselessness” for all eternity. That day, I chose God and His life dwelling within me! I went from being a pauper, to the riches of God’s kingdom.  All things now became possible for me! All the devils in hell had no call on my life!  I want to say here and now, all of the promises of God are truth and they set you free from all bondage. All of the riches in Christ are experiences in store for a child of God.  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Let us pray:  Holy Father, I come in the name of Your beloved Son.  Awaken me to all that pertains to life and Godliness in Christ Jesus.  May I be continually taught and admonished by Your Holy Spirit.  I want You, dear Lord, to be the most important person in my life.  Help me to understand Your thoughts and Your ways.  I will always know that You “know best” and You are working everything together for my good.  In this world I will face trials and tribulations, but I count them all opportunities to know You better and see Your Spirit at work in my life.

Fill me to overflowing with Your Spirit and may I glorify You in all of my ways. Show me the work You want me to do.  Fully equip me to be all You have called me to be. May I never look back, but may I press toward the prize of Your “high calling” in Christ Jesus.  Help me to always walk on “higher ground.”  Burden my soul for the lost and teach me to walk in perfect love.  I love You with my whole heart.  Make me worthy of God, my Father, and of my Savior.  May I walk continually in Your Holy Spirit and fulfill all righteousness.  I will forever love and obey You.  Amen.