I. Problems Plague Us All!
A. Bad Things Happen to Good People!
B. Have you ever wanted a lot out of life, only to find out that life has a lot to take out of you!? (I used to want to be Filthy, Stinking, Rich – Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad)
C. Would You Agree With Matthew 5:45?
“…He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
D. We must understand that life is full of disappointments!
II. God Is Not A Halfway God!
A. If God started something in your life…He will finish it!
Philippians 1:6 “…be(ing) confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it…”
B. Remember those words: “good work”
B. God is gonna finish just what He started!
III. Paying Good For Evil?
A. Text: Genesis 50:15-21
B. Verse 20 is the key: “…but…you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good…”
C. When is the last time you’ve looked at your circumstance and said, “that looks good?”
D. God knows your situation! Why? Cause He has had His hands in it already! You can find God’s fingerprints on your problem! But…it’s a good thing!
1. God knows (Rev. 3:1)
a. He knows Your Image!
b. He knows Your Reality! (Have you ever felt like things were going so bad that someone even stopped payment on your reality check!?)
E. When you find yourself going through tough times, and you can’t seem to get anyone to understand you, God says, “I know!”
F. When God created light, He just spoke it, and it came into existence! He then looked, and said, “It’s good!”
G. He didn’t just want to create light! He didn’t stop! There was more to come!
H. Don’t stop halfway with God! He won’t, you shouldn’t!
IV. How Can I See Good In Evil Done To Me?
A. If you can’t trust God, whom can you trust?
B. If you can trust Him when things are going well, shouldn’t we also trust Him when things aren’t going so well?
C. This is what Job told his wife when she told him to just “curse God, and die!” (Job 2:9)
D. He told her she was a foolish woman and then asked her, “Should we accept good from God, and not accept adversity also?”
E. Does God do bad things to us? NO! Does He allow bad things to happen to us? YES! Why? Because He loves us! And He’s got something unique for us!
(Always remember you’re unique – just like everyone else!)
F. But, don’t look at that situation in the negative light!
V. Look Back At Your Difficulty And See That it is Good!
A. Because, you are going somewhere! God is about to take you somewhere!
B. Stop and think. (Have you ever stopped to think and forgot to start again?) Think about every time you stayed firm with God through a trial. Weren’t you better off on the other side than you were previously?
C. God’s gotta plan!
D. When God closes a door, look for another door!
E. In fact, if you feel raped, robbed, violated by the things the devil has stolen from you, think of this: God may have been the One to open the window!
F. Why would He do that? You are in a growing process! A learning experience!
G. Because, what the Devil meant for evil…God meant for good!
H. And, it will cause all of hell to roar when you begin calling what the evil has done to you ---good!
I. Always remember James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…”
J. Are you saying my trial is a good gift? Sure, if you read prior to that verse (at James 1:2-4):“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (perseverance). But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing.”
