US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article first published on ASSIST News Service, looks at how God can take something bitter and turn it into something sweet…
Grove, Oklahoma, US
Via ASSIST News Service
PICTURE: Cristina Anne Costello/Unsplash
“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps His promises and constantly loves those who love Him and who obey His commands” – Deuteronomy 7:9 (TLB).
One of my favourite promises in the Bible is found in John. In chapter 16, verse 33, Jesus tells His disciples: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
At the end of John, chapter 15, Jesus prepares His disciples, predicting both persecution and the coming of the Holy Spirit. He ends His final teaching at the Last Supper with a call to endure hardships, knowing that in Him His followers will be ultimately victorious.
“God can take the bitter and turn it into something sweet. He can take your messes and use your message for His Kingdom. He can take your lemons and make lemonade. And that’s a promise.”
Sometimes, however, during trials, we don’t feel victorious. Hardships leave us questioning God’s plans. We wonder if He has forgotten His promises to us.
What do you do when life gives you lemons? There’s a familiar idiom that tells us to turn lemons into lemonade, meaning to make the best of a difficult situation or embrace life in whatever form.
However, most of us don’t like the pain that comes with the bitterness of the lemons. But what if we can’t change our circumstances? What if God is the only One who can change us or our situation, but He’s not in a hurry? His timetable is different from ours.
What if it’s a growing season, a time of stretching? A time to reshape us. A time to let God be God? I think we can all relate. We’d all prefer to avoid the road bumps in life. But God has promised us He has overcome the world.
God offers three promises we need to remember when life gives us lemons. When you can’t see your circumstances changing, remember this:
• God is near the broken-hearted. He will never leave you. Never forsake you. No matter what you are facing, He is there beside you, walking you through the pain. Psalm 34:18 is a constant reminder: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
• God is good. No matter what the circumstances, no matter how bad it gets, no matter the loss, God is good. He never changes. Psalm 136:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.”
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• God is faithful. One promise you can always cling to is the faithfulness of God. No matter what your circumstances look like, God is faithful to you and to His Word. The Bible says that He watches over His word to perform it. God will not let His Word fail. Jeremiah 1:12 reads, “The Lord said to me, ‘You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.’”
Your circumstance may seem unfair and unjust. However, if you let God use it for His glory, you will be rewarded – even if you don’t see your circumstances changing at once. I Corinthians 1:9 tells us that our “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In his book, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, author Timothy Keller wrote, “All shall work together for good; everything is needful that He sends; nothing can be needful that He withholds…”
God can take the bitter and turn it into something sweet. He can take your messes and use your message for His Kingdom. He can take your lemons and make lemonade. And that’s a promise.
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