God Uses Change For Your Good

As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”  Genesis 8:22

Change is unavoidable. We all know that but we often still act surprised when things don’t stay the same.

When change happens, we can complain and grumble, get mad, or blame other people. We may even try to stop the inevitable, as if we have any control. But things on earth never stay the same. In every moment of our lives, there is change, for good or bad.

When God created the earth, this is one of the first things he said: “As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night” (Genesis 8:22). In his perfect design, God made everything on this planet seasonal. Everything is changing, even when we can’t see or feel it. Your family isn’t the same as it used to be. Your job isn’t the same as it used to be. You are not the same as you used to be.

But because God designed it and said it was good, we know that change is for our benefit. Change keeps us from becoming complacent and helps us continue to trust God for the things we cannot understand. When change brings pain into our lives, it makes us depend on him. And change makes spiritual, physical, and emotional growth a natural part of life. Change for the better in your walk with Jesus means you are becoming more like him.

There is no growth without change, no change without loss, no loss without grief, and no grief without pain. A person who wants to grow and be better but not go through the pain of change is like a woman saying, “I want to have a baby, but I don’t want to go through labor.” It isn’t going to happen! To bring new life into the world requires pain. To enjoy every good gift, we sometimes have to experience the painful change required to receive it.

Change will not always be easy, and you might not always understand it. But remember this: Whatever change God requires from you, you can be sure it is for your good.

God Won’t Let You Face Life Alone

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13

No matter what you’re going to face in the next week, month, or year, you’re not going to face it alone. God is with you, he is in you, and he is for you.

Philippians 2:13 says, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him”.

God is working in you. The word “working” in Greek is the word energeo, from which we get the word “energy.” God is the energy driver in your life. You can’t survive on just willpower. God can give you the power you need though his Spirit at work in your life, no matter what you’re facing.

God is working with you. Not only is he in you, he is with you. The Bible says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. . . . On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:18, 20). That’s quite a promise! The Bible says Christ is in you, you’re hidden with Christ in God, and you’re sealed with the Holy Spirit. That means for the devil to get to you, he’s got to get through the Trinity! That’s pretty good protection. That’s a great fear reliever.

God is for you. Not only is God with you and in you, God is also for you. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, no one can defeat us”.

When a shepherd leads the sheep, there are always guard dogs at the back, nipping at the sheep to keep them moving in the right direction.

You can think of God’s goodness and mercy as guard dogs in your life. The Bible says, “Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:7). God gives you the things you don’t deserve that is his goodness. And he doesn’t give you the things you do deserve that’s his mercy.

Do you ever feel the smile of God in your life? If you don’t, you might not really know God. Some people think God is like the angry parent who’s mad at them all the time. No. God is for you!

If you want to be happy, you need to get up every morning and say, “God, thank you for being with me today, for being in me today, and for being forme today.”

Reasons To Never Give Up

We don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.”  2 Corinthians 4:18

If your focus is shortsighted and you’re only thinking about your current difficulties or pain, then it’s only natural to want to give up. 

But if you look at things from an eternal perspective, then you’ll be able to keep going, no matter what happens.

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

This passage gives us four reasons to stay strong emotionally and never give up.

We never give up, because “our spirits are being renewed every day.” We wouldn’t dream of going a whole week without food, but some people don’t open their Bibles for an entire week. That’s depriving your soul of the most essential nourishment it needs! If you want to renew your spirit every day, then get into God’s Word.

We never give up, because “our present troubles are small and won’t last very long.” Problems don’t come to stay; they come to pass. Even if we have problems that last our entire lives, they would be miniscule compared to the trillions of years we’re going to spend in heaven. Know this: Problems on earth are temporary, and God has long-range plans for you.

We never give up, because we know our problems will “produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” God is using everything in your life—even the hard stuff—to build your character for eternity. Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.

We never give up, because we “fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.” When you focus on things that last forever, you’re able to finish the race because you have long-term thinking. Your attention is fixed on eternity. 

So, what are you focused on today? Instead of looking at your problems, start looking at Jesus again. And don’t give up!

The Habit That Produces Joy

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:18

When you’re going through a season of great change and stress, how do you maintain joy? You do it by developing the habit of thanking God for all that’s good, despite all that’s bad. 

This principle is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”. This means that we should develop an attitude of gratitude in every situation. It doesn’t mean that we have to be thankful for everything that happens to us, especially the bad things like cancer or car accidents. We don’t have to be thankful for all the evil in the world.

But every time you take a minute to express gratitude to God about anything it could be your favorite music, a spot in nature, or Scripture it helps refill your empty emotional tank so you can move forward in life. Choosing to be thankful is for your own good; it keeps you from becoming bitter and helps you to finish strong.

Being grateful is easy when your emotional tank is full and things are going great. It’s much harder to find something to be thankful for when you’re facing a crisis or prolonged chronic stress. But that’s when you need to express gratitude the most.

The story of Job is a great example of gratitude during hard times. He was a wealthy and successful man, but he lost everything in a single day. He didn’t know why it all happened to him, and he had every reason to be angry and bitter. Despite this, he continued to trust God. Even in his darkest moment, he fell to the ground and worshiped God, saying, “May the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21).

One of the most practical yet powerful habits you can develop is to make a daily gratitude list. Just sit down for five minutes each day and ask yourself, “What am I grateful for?” It’s a habit that will strengthen your soul and keep you going when you feel like giving up.

Even in our darkest moments, we can follow Job’s example and gratefully worship God, knowing that his will for us is to give thanks in all circumstances.

Be Honest With God

Throw all your worry on [God], because he cares for you.”  1 Peter 5:7

Have you ever prayed a prayer like this? “God, help me. I’m overwhelmed and discouraged. I don’t know if I can keep going.” If so, you were being honest with God and that’s exactly the kind of prayer he wants to hear from you.

Do you feel under attack? Tell God. Do you feel like you have no energy? Tell God. Do you feel rejected or lonely? Tell God. You have permission to dump everything you’re feeling right now onto the Lord because the Bible says: “Throw all your worry on [God], because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

But sometimes being honest with God can be intimidating. You might think he doesn’t already know everything about your life, but he does. That’s why it’s important to remember three facts about God when you pray.

God knows every emotion you feel. The Bible says, “The LORD gave each of us a mind, and nothing we do can be hidden from him” (Psalm 33:15).

When you tell God how you feel, he will never say, “That’s a surprise to me.” Why? Because he created your mind along with everything else. You can speak freely to him. Nothing you say will ever catch him off guard.

And when you do share your feelings with God, it’s for your benefit, not his. God knows that when you “throw all your worries on him,” it relieves a lot of unconscious tension and internal conflict in your life.

God understands your feelings better than you do. The Bible says, “The LORD knows what is in everyone’s mind. He understands everything you think” (1 Chronicles 28:9). 

I doubt you understand everything you think. I certainly don’t understand everything I think. And sometimes you’ll have an emotion that makes you wonder, “Where did that come from?” But because God gave you your emotions, he always understands them.

The only reason you have emotions is because you’re made in God’s image and God is an emotional God. The Bible says God gets sad and angry, and he even laughs. Every emotion you have comes from God.    

God loves to listen to you. The Bible says, “I love the LORD, because he hears me. . . . He listens to me every time I call to him” (Psalm 116:1-2).

God is a listening God. You may get too busy for a conversation with him, but he is never too busy for a conversation with you. And he doesn’t have a short attention span; he won’t say, “What were you talking about? Can you say that again?” God is always attentive.

So whenever you’re distressed and at the end of your rope, pray honestly and “cry out in the night . . . pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19). God can handle it, and he’s ready to hear your prayers.

The Power To Keep Going

We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” 2 Corinthians 4:9)

If you’ve ever been at a race, you’ve probably heard spectators shout, “Keep going!” to motivate the athletes. That’s also great advice for anyone who feels emotionally, mentally, or spiritually exhausted from running the marathon of life: Keep going!

Scripture includes many examples of people who had determination to keep going in the face of opposition, including Jesus and Paul.

Jesus faced constant opposition. Religious and political leaders tried to intimidate him. They repeatedly tried to stop him from teaching and helping people. At one point, they even warned him that King Herod wanted to kill him.

But Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way” (Luke 13:32-33).

Nothing was going to stop Jesus from accomplishing his purposes not fear, opposition, or criticism. He was resilient and had the endurance to keep on keeping on. 

Paul also faced obstacles that threatened to slow him down. In the Living Bible paraphrase, he said, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Maybe that sounds familiar, because you feel like troubles are coming at you from every direction. You’re tired and worn out, and you don’t think you’ll make it to the finish line.

How do you keep going? You get the power to keep going from the same place Jesus and Paul did: God.

The Message paraphrase says, “We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work”(2 Timothy 1:8-9).

God doesn’t expect you to fulfill your purpose and do his will in your own power. First, he saves you, and then he gives you the power for daily living. He will give you everything you need to keep going and finish what he has called you to do.

Lasting Love Expects The Best And Endures The Worst

Love . . . never stops hoping, never gives up.” 1 Corinthians 13:7

We’ve been looking at the choices that help a marriage stand the test of time. Yesterday we talked about choosing to extend grace. Today I want to share the final two choices that will help you build a love that lasts.

Lasting love expects the best. It’s hopeful and forward-looking and optimistic. It’s not stuck in the past.  First Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love . . . never stops hoping”(GW) and “always expects the best”.

Here’s the problem: The longer you’re in a relationship with an imperfect person, the more you tend to expect the worst because you know their faults and weaknesses better than anybody else. But when you expect the worst, you set yourself up for a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You can’t change bad behavior into good behavior by telling somebody they’re bad. You change bad behavior by helping them see a picture of what they could become. Don’t tell it like it is. Tell it like it could be. Treat people the way you want them to become. 

The Living Bible paraphrase says, “If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him”(1 Corinthians 13:7).

The fourth choice for growing a love that lasts is this: Lasting love endures the worst.

Some of you are in an unhappy marriage right now, and you’re ready to give up. On behalf of God, I say this: Don’t. Don’t you do it. You have no idea what you’ll miss. It’s always more rewarding to restore a relationship than to run from it. 

I know that some of you have endured so much pain. Don’t waste it. At least get something from it.

Some of you feel like you can’t trust your spouse anymore. If that’s the case, here’s what you do: You trust God. Say, “God you’re greater than my spouse, and I’m going to trust you to work in their life and to take care of me.” Before you give up on the relationship, give God a chance. 

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust God all the time. Tell him all your problems, because God is our protection”. Your spouse is not your protection. God is your protection.

Some of you have a spouse who’s walked away from God, and they don’t even believe in him anymore. But guess what? God does not want you walking away from them. They need you now more than ever.

The Bible says, “A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14).

I want you to notice something about the choices that grow a lasting love: extending grace, expecting the best, and enduring the worst. They are the same ways Jesus loves you. 

If you want to learn to love people the way Jesus loves, here’s the secret: Get Jesus in you. Only with him in your life will you ever be able to love your spouse with God’s everlasting love. 

Lasting Love Extends Grace

Love never stops being patient . . .”1 Corinthians 13:7

If you want your marriage to last for the long haul, you’re going to need to make tough choices to stay in love and keep making those choices again and again. One of those choices is to extend grace, even when life is hard.

The longer you’re married, the easier it is to become ungracious. No marriage will last without grace, forgiveness, acceptance, and a lot of patience. You have to choose to cut your spouse slack.  

It’s easy to show grace one time. That’s no big deal. What’s hard is when someone repeatedly hurts or irritates you. First Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love never stops being patient . . .”. The Message paraphrase says it like this: “Love . . . puts up with anything.”

Here are three situations that will continually call for grace in your marriage:

You need to extend grace when their flaws and faults irritate you. 

The longer you love somebody, the more you know their flaws. You can choose to be either critical or gracious, picky or kind, perfectionistic or merciful. The Living Bible paraphrase says in Proverb 17:9, “Love forgets mistakes.”

One time two women were talking after church and one said to the other, “Do you remember when your husband did that?” She was talking about a bad thing that had happened. I love what the other woman said: “I distinctly remember forgetting that.” 

Friend, it’s a choice. It’s foolish to think that two imperfect people could have a perfect relationship. You must extend grace. Love disregards another person’s faults. Love forgets mistakes. Ephesians 4:2 says, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love”.

You need to extend grace when their words or actions hurt you.

The truth is, we’re human and we hurt each other, sometimes intentionally but many times unintentionally. We say things we don’t mean. We’re inconsiderate and selfish. We’re careless with our words and actions.

I was talking to a man one day. He said, “I did something wrong, and my wife got historical.” 

I said, “You mean hysterical!” He then said, “No, historical. She told me everything I’d ever done wrong.” 

The Bible says that love “keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV). You’ve got to let it go if you want a love that lasts.

You need to extend grace when they sin.

Your spouse is going to sin, sometimes against you, sometimes against God, and sometimes against others. Colossians 3:13 says, “Put up with each other, and forgive each other. . . . Forgive as the Lord forgave you”. Love forgives. 

A great marriage is simply the union of two great forgivers. 

The Glue That Holds Your Marriage Together

Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stranger in your faith.” Colossians 2:7

If you want to keep your marriage growing, the most important thing you can do is this: Keep on following Jesus.

When it feels like your marriage is threatening to come undone, he is the glue that will hold you together. And when you wonder if your marriage is dead, he has the power to bring it back to life.

The Bible says, “You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him” (Colossians 2:6). You may have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord decades ago, but you have to choose to keep following him, day after day.

And Colossians 2:7 says this: “Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stranger in your faith” (GNT). How in the world do you do that in your marriage? Let me give you some practical suggestions.

First, commit as a couple to making Jesus the center of your marriage. Then find a group of other Christian couples who can help you grow. That might be a church small group, Sunday school class, or just Christian friends you invite to dinner.

Next, pray for your spouse and with your spouse. The Message paraphrase says, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” (James 5:16). Would you like to live together whole and healed? Of course you would. And this verse tells you how. First, admit it when you’re wrong, and second, pray for each other and pray with each other.

Finally, follow God’s Word. Proverbs 3:6 says, “Remember the LORD in everything you do, and he will show you the right way” . When you’re growing closer to God and your spouse is growing closer to God, he naturally brings you together.

I’ve got a redwood tree in my backyard that I planted years ago. For more than a decade, it grew really well. But one year it came under stress and nearly died. All the needles fell off. First, it turned yellow, and then it actually started turning red. It looked like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I finally figured out that the sprinkler had been plugged up and it wasn’t getting any water all season. So I watered and fertilized it and spent time nurturing it. And eventually, it started sprouting new growth. The tree that was almost dead started growing again.

Your marriage may be in a stress season. Maybe it’s been in hibernation or experiencing drought. And you’ve got a Charlie Brown Christmas tree marriage. But it can come back to life.

Commit to keeping your roots deep in Jesus and building your life on him. He can bring your marriage back to life.

Be Your Spouse’s Biggest Fan

“Encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’” Hebrews 3:13

We all need affirmation. That’s how God wired us. In fact, if you’re married, one reason you fell in love with your spouse is that they affirmed you. You still need that affirmation from your spouse and they need affirmation from you too. One of your God-given roles as a husband or wife is to be your spouse’s biggest fan!

Why is affirmation so important? Because we live in a world where there are a lot of critics. It’s easy to find someone who will put you down. So one of the most important things that you can do is to lift up your spouse by your affirmation.

How often are we supposed to do this? The Bible says, “Encourage each other every day while it is ‘today’” (Hebrews 3:13 NCV). It’s a daily habit.

Here are three things you and your spouse can affirm in each other:

Affirm each other’s value. When a house “appreciates,” it goes up in value. When you appreciate your spouse, it’s like you’re raising their value and the value of your marriage. The Living Bible paraphrase says, “A word of encouragement does wonders!” (Proverbs 12:25).

Sometimes it can be hard to think of something to appreciate in your spouse. If nothing else, you can at least appreciate that they’ve stuck with you and not given up on your marriage.

Affirm each other’s strengths. We blossom with affirmation. When you praise your spouse’s strengths, you help them grow. One of the greatest models of this is the apostle Paul. In his day, the church in Corinth had a lot of problems. But when he wrote to them, he said, “I have great confidence in you, and I have a lot of reasons to be proud of you” (2 Corinthians 7:4 GW). He affirmed their strengths, the good things about them.

It’s your job to bring out the best in your spouse. And you can’t bring out the best by pointing out the worst. You bring out the best in someone by pointing out the best. So decide to be a dream builder and not a dream buster; decide to brag, not nag. Make that decision, and watch the difference it makes.

Affirm each other’s ministry. Affirm what your spouse is doing for God’s sake in the world today. Romans 1:12 says, “I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you”(NCV). 

As you and your spouse affirm each other’s value, strengths, and ministry, you’ll become each other’s biggest fans and see your relationship grow.