Quote from Forum Archives on May 12, 2003, 2:20 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
(Over 8,000 subscribers in 75 countries)

05.11.03

All Things

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to
those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28.

Before I was old enough to have a driver's license my parents had bought by
grandfather's car for me to have when I turned sixteen years old. On my
first trip by myself after receiving my driver's license I had a shocking
experience. While driving at 40 to 50 miles per hour on a two lane unmarked
country road with no shoulders I decided I would light a cigarette. I
pushed in the cigarette lighter and while reaching for a pack of cigarettes
swerved off the road into the ditch nearly turning over and then swerved
back on to the roadway. No damage was done to my car but a message had been
communicated to me which I believe now came from God. As a result of that
incident I never again tried to light up a cigarette in a car and it was the
beginning of the end of my smoking.

Almost having a severe accident is a frightening thing but out of the almost
accident that I had God has brought much good. Some of those things are
obvious and some are not so obvious. The most obvious was that I never
again tried to smoke a cigarette in a car. Also, as a result of the
connection of cigarettes to the almost accident in my mind I rarely smoked
after that time and stopped completely after I graduated from high school.
Some not so obvious good things that resulted are that I moved from being
risk taker to being a more cautious person. Also the crowd of individuals
that I associated with began to change from those who were risk takers to
those who were more cautious. Most likely my life has been extended by many
years as a result of my almost accident which God allowed me to have those
many years ago.

Before we become depressed or angry with God about things or circumstances,
which occur in our lives there are some things as Christians, we should
consider. We should consider the spiritual ramifications of those incidents
and circumstances. Is it possible that in the long term there will be
personal spiritual benefits as a result of the incident or circumstance? Is
it possible that in the long term there will be spiritual benefits for
others as a result of the incident or circumstance? If those benefits are
not immediately discernable ask God to reveal how He may bring good from the
incident or circumstance.

Once we have identified the possible spiritual benefits from the bad things
or circumstances that occur in our lives we will then be much better
prepared to walk with God through those things. Always remember that God
loves you and wants the very best for your life and that no matter how bad
something may be God can bring good from it. The key to His bringing about
the good is our loving Him and seeking His will and purpose to be brought
about in our lives.

Copyright © 2003. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited.

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