God Will Turn It Around
July 22, 2013Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. Philippians 1:12
Paul the Apostle didn’t feel like he was a big shot; yet he realized he was a carrier of the presence of God. He didn’t let imprisonment, shipwrecks, or snake bites keep him from being effective.
After he miraculously survived a shipwreck, Paul was bitten by a viper while collecting firewood—it should have been fatal; “however he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm” (Acts 28:5). God then used Paul’s hand as an instrument of healing for the same people who had assumed he would die from the venom. What the devil meant for evil, God turned around for good!
And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. Acts 28:8
We read about Paul in the snapshot of antiquity, but Christianity is not just
a series of old pictures from the past. The God who rescued Paul is the same God who wants to turn your circumstances around. Things may look bleak, but God gives the assurance that He will cause everything to work together for good—that includes everything in your life (Romans 8:28). Find promises in God’s Word and hold to them (Isaiah 55:11). Believe as Paul did—that “it will turn out exactly as I have been told.”
Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. . . And so it happened that they all were brought safely to land. Acts 27:25, 44b
Take courage!
Pastor Jeff
Copyright © 2013 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.