You’ve probably heard it said that God is good and He can bring good out of bad situations. Maybe like me, you’ve scoffed at that and shook your fist at Him when you were hurting, and didn’t understand what He was doing or wasn’t doing to stop the bad things from happening in your life. “Why?” seems to be a very valid question that deserves an answer.
I was having it out with God recently, asking Him why I had to pay for someone else’s mistakes and choices many years ago; ones that hurt me deeply for decades. I was wondering where to find the good.
You wouldn’t believe what He showed me: A picture of a rotten apple.
Father said that there is good and bad (rotten) fruit, but no matter what kind it is – when you open it up, you will find seeds inside of it that are unaffected by the state of the fruit surrounding it. God then showed me that He is able to take those seeds and plant them and produce healthy trees with an amazing, bountiful, harvest. He told me, “Laura, I removed the seeds out of that very painful and difficult time of your life, and because you chose to still follow and seek me, I was able to bring a beautiful harvest in your life.”
God is able to bring good out of the rotten.
But, we have to do our part by reading His word, spending time with Him, talking with Him, asking for wisdom, and seeking Godly counsel when needed. We must also work through the pain and hurt by refusing to live in offence and bitterness, and actively forgiving and blessing those who have hurt you – and forgiving yourself too in the process.
When you do this consistently and refuse to give into the enemy’s plans to destroy you, you will see God shine a light on what He is doing in you and around you. He will heal you from the inside out. It is then that YOU will be able to bring that very hope to others; the hope and truth that God is good, that He’s looking out for them, and that He is for them and not against them.
It’s not easy, but if you are willing to believe Him at His Word and look for the good, you will start to see it unfold in your life and in the lives of those around you in the most beautiful and unexpected ways.
Bringing good out of the rotten is part of the great exchange of what Jesus did on the cross for us!
To those who mourn, God gives a crown of beauty for your ashes, He gives the oil of joy for mourning, and He puts a garment of praise on you for the spirit of heaviness, that you would be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.
-Isaiah 61:3
