Lemons Into Lemonade
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
God is excellent at making lemonade out of lemons. There is nothing that happens that He will not turn into good because He is God and that is what He does.
StrengthsFinder 2.0
Several years ago I took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 quiz. One of my strengths is Connectedness:
Description: “People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.”
“Fortifying the bonds between yourself, the people you know, or even those you will never meet gives your life special meaning.”
“You consider various ways to initiate, nurture, and sustain the linkages between individuals and groups. You bring people together. You help them discover reasons to cooperate and support one another.”
Had vs For
Did the particular bad event such as cancer, divorce or job loss have to happen – no.
Did the event happen for a reason – yes.
What Reason?
What good could possibly come out of brain cancer? I do not know. It is God’s job to know what good will come from such an evil diagnosis.
When
When will He make lemonade out of an illness, divorce, or unemployment? I do not know.
It is God’s job to know when something good will happen.
Not Permitted To Know
There are some things we are not permitted to know. We try to be God all the time, but we are not. He never designed us to know and understand everything that He does.
This is where faith comes in. It painful and frustrating waiting for Him take a bad situation and make something good out of it. I get that, been there done that (and not just with Joe’s passing).
We want it now but all things happen in His time.
Waiting
Faith is what gets us through the waiting period. It is painful and frustrating waiting for Him to take a bad situation and make something good out of it.
Sometimes we do not see the good or His presence until we look back over the past. Then we see God’s handiwork woven throughout the tough days, weeks, months or years.
We might not see His handiwork until we get to heaven.
I have faith we will know the answers to “what” and “when” but only when God decides to reveal them.
In the meantime He will give us the strength to persevere one day at a time and HIs strength is often times found when we are still before Him.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
Michele Kearns is the founder and HUG© (Hope Unites Globally) Award-Winner of JoyReturns. She encourages widows and educates society about grief and life as a widow by sharing her widowhood adventures. A graduate of Kent State University with a degree in communications, she has used her skills in the banking, collections, outdoor products and social media industries. Michele is a bookworm, lover of golden retrievers and an amateur photographer. You can view her photographs at OgleOhio.com.
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