God is Good & He is in Control...

Remember to Say Every Day: God Is Good and He Is in Control

by Rick Warren

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who’ve been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)

“Why is life so hard?” Do you ever find yourself asking this question because you’re frustrated by circumstances in your life?

Frustration is the result of living in a world that is broken by sin. You can’t avoid suffering. There will be pain, and if you aren’t careful, that pain can lead to bitterness.

Bitterness is a poison that will eat you alive. It’s like a cancer to your heart. When you become bitter towards someone, you don’t hurt that person; you only hurt yourself.

It’s so easy to become envious and jealous of others when life doesn’t go the way we want it to. We begin to think, “It’s not fair. Why does that person have it so easy when life is so tough for me?”

It’s very easy to become resentful in a broken world. But envy and jealousy can quickly turn to bitterness, and bitterness will eat you up.

How do you keep from becoming bitter? You choose. There will be pain in your life. The question is, are you going to allow it to make you a better person or a bitter person? You can moan and groan and become bitter. Or you can stay sweet in a suffering world by remembering these four things:

The Holy Spirit is praying for you. “[T]he Spirit himself speaks to God for us, and even begs God for us with deep feelings that words cannot explain” (Romans 8:26 NCV).

God uses everything for your good. “And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28 NIV). God is bigger than your enemies. He’s bigger than your critics. He’s bigger than your problems. And he’s working it all for good in your life.

God wants you to succeed. “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NLT). God wants you to succeed in all those areas where you are failing. He’s pulling for you.

God will give you what you need. “And since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32 NLT). God solved your biggest problem when he paid for all your sins, including the ones you haven’t done yet. If God cared enough to save you and give you the gift of eternal life, don’t you think he cares about the problems in your daily life? If it’s big enough to worry about, it’s big enough to pray about. And if you pray about it, you won’t have to worry about it.

All of these things should remind you that God is good and he’s in control.