“… He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good…” Romans 8:28 (The Message)
A few months back in church we heard a sermon about how Satan’s one job is to get us to focus on assuming the worst in people and situations. God, however, wants us to assume the best in others and situations. Our church believes in that motto so strongly that when you consider my church to be your church home, you agree to assume the best in others and in situations instead of jumping to false conclusions. I’ve been actively putting that belief into practice in my life for approximately two years now and it really does make a difference.
However, I noticed during the sermon that I need to take that statement one step further and assume the best in God too! Instead of the lie I’d been believing my whole life that He was out to punish me, to judge me, to make my life miserable because I had disobeyed, sinned, not followed the rules… I needed to believe the truth of His word instead. He loves me (Ephesians 3:17-18), He will fight for me (Exodus 14:13-14), He saved me (John 3:16), and He will defend me (Psalm 121:7).
That might not be a life changing statement for many. You may have always believed the truth of those statements and don’t have a problem thinking that God loves you and wants the best for you. Or maybe you are more like me and believed lies about God for so long that it took multiple messages, multiple times, for you to begin to grasp the concept that God wants the best for our lives.
Whenever life becomes challenging, I need to realign my thinking with the truth. Maybe this trial is preparation for a wonderful miracle. Maybe this trial is really a blessing in disguise. Maybe this trial will cause growth for me that will then ultimately be used for God’s glory days, months or years later on the journey God has me taking.
I want to encourage you friends. Just as we listen to Satan when we choose to believe the worst in people and situations, we listen to God when we believe the best in others and circumstances. If God wants us to believe the best in others, who aren’t perfect and do make mistakes, how much more would He want us to believe He has our best interest in mind with everything He allows to enter our lives? The best might be painful at times, but when we praise Him through it, obey Him during it, and learn the lessons He desires we learn, the blessings do come, usually more abundantly and in a greater way that we could have ever imagined.
© Cheri Swalwell 2016
My motto is “When you buy the thought, you buy the lie.” Just as you stated here — the opposite is also true!