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“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

My mom loves to work with her hands. All around our house hang pictures she made by cross-stitch. Before she starts any cross-stitching project, she always makes sure that she has all of the different colored threads she needs. In order for the picture to turn out right, she has to use black thread when the pattern calls for black thread, and red thread when the pattern calls for red thread.

You can think of your life like one of the cross-stitch projects my mom makes. If you were watching my mom cross-stitch with beautiful red thread – and you hadn’t seen the pattern – you might wonder why sometimes she stops using red and starts using black thread instead. In the same way, you might wonder why God takes away the “good things” in your life and lets “bad things” happen instead. Why is your sister sick? Why did your father lose his job? Why did your family have to move to a different city?

In Isaiah 55:8-9, God tells us that His thoughts and ways are much higher than yours. Sometimes, you don’t understand God’s plans. But whether God is using a red thread or a black thread in your life, you can be confident that He knows what He is doing! Romans 8:28 promises that you don’t have to worry about whether or not your situation will work out right; you don’t have to worry, because you can know that it will work out for your good! My mom has to use many different colors of thread, but in the end the picture turns out right. God knows the picture He wants to make with your life, and He uses many different things – some you may like, and some you may not like – in order for the picture to turn out just the way He planned.

If you want to know what my mother’s cross-stitch will look like when she’s done, you can look at her pattern. But can we see the pattern God is following? We can! Jesus Christ is the pattern, and God is changing us according to the pattern that Jesus made with His life. (That’s what the next verse, Romans 8:29 says.) So when Paul says that God is working everything out, he doesn’t mean that things always turn out the way we want them to. Instead, Paul is saying that we will turn out the way God wants us to!

Is there something going on in your life that you don’t understand? Do you trust that God, Who is sovereign, knows what He is doing? Or do you blame God for not always giving you “good things”? If you are a child of God, you can be sure that He will work all things for your good according to His perfect plan.

God uses everything in my life to make me more like Jesus.

My Response:
» What situation in my life do I need to trust God with?
» How could God be using this situation to make me more like Jesus?

“And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD.” (2 Kings 19:15a)

Hezekiah had good reason to pray! Hezekiah was the King of Judah. Maybe you’ve heard of Judah: it was a small nation, the only two tribes left over from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. And Hezekiah, King of Judah, had a problem: he was an enemy of the pagan king of Assyria, Sennacherib (pronounced sen-AK-er-rib). Assyria back then was a little like America is today: the strongest nation on earth. And the nation of Judah was like one of those tiny countries you see on a map – so small that nobody remembers the name of. In other words, King Hezekiah was no match for King Sennacherib.

Because Hezekiah and Sennacherib were enemies, Sennacherib brought his forces down to do battle against Hezekiah and the Kingdom of Judah. Sennacherib fought hard, and his armies defeated a lot of Judean towns. Hezekiah became frightened. So instead of relying on God, he sent money – some of it was God’s money – to Sennacherib, trying to buy him off!

Well, Sennacherib didn’t just want money. He wanted to humiliate Hezekiah in the capital city, Jerusalem. So Sennacherib sent messenger boys to Hezekiah, announcing that Sennacherib would defeat God’s people if they resisted him.

What could Hezekiah do? He’d already sent money to Sennacherib, but Sennacherib wasn’t satisfied. Hezekiah was so upset that he tore his clothes and went to the temple of the Lord. Instead of sending more money to the wicked king Sennacherib, Hezekiah sent word to Isaiah, the prophet of God, asking what to do. Isaiah sent back word not to worry, since God would take care of Hezekiah’s problem with Sennacherib.

When Sennacherib heard what Isaiah had said, he sent a letter to Hezekiah, repeating his threats. Hezekiah grew very upset again. This time, he didn’t send money to the wicked king, and he didn’t even call on God’s prophet. Instead, he spread out the letter on the ground and prayed to God.

After Hezekiah had pled with God for help, God sent word by the prophet Isaiah saying that God had heard Hezekiah’s prayer. In Isaiah 37:21, God says that because Hezekiah had prayed, He would rise up against Sennacherib and defeat him. Soon afterwards, God miraculously killed 125,000 of Sennacherib’s troops, and Sennacherib returned home to Assyria without ever fighting against Hezekiah. Eventually, two of Sennacherib’s sons assassinated him while he prayed to his false god.

You’ve probably noticed that the story of Hezekiah and Sennacherib is complicated. You can read the whole thing in 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37. Each version of the story gives details that the other one doesn’t mention. When Isaiah tells the story, he makes the point that this devotional is making: it wasn’t until Hezekiah himself prayed to God that God defeated Sennacherib.

Was it bad for Hezekiah to ask advice from God’s prophet, Isaiah? Of course not! And when Hezekiah asked advice, God promised to help. But it wasn’t until Hezekiah himself prayed that God actually struck down Sennacherib’s army. God had planned to fight against Sennacherib, but He waited to do it until after Hezekiah asked Him to do it. God wants His people to bring their concerns to Him and to rely on Him to do His will.

When you face difficult circumstances, it’s not good to try working things out on your own, as Hezekiah did when he paid money to Sennacherib. It is good to ask advice from older, more mature Christians like your teachers, parents, and pastors. But that’s not enough! You should ask God for help. God wants to hear your prayers, and He wants to show His power in response to your prayers.

God powerfully responds to the prayers of His people.

My Response:
» When I face difficulties, do I try working things out on my own? Or do I pray for God’s direction and help so that I’ll know how to respond?

“The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.” (Psalm 10:16)

“I’m king of the mountain!” shouted Sammy, as his younger siblings scrambled up the huge mound of dirt to dethrone him. The Rettus children were spending an afternoon playing King of the Mountain. To be king of the mountain, one person had to stand on the top of a designated mountain (a pile of snow, a sand dune, or a mound of dirt) without letting his siblings push him down. Whoever was the lone person on top of the mountain was king, ruling over all the others.

Scripture tells us that God is King. He is King of all the earth (Psalm 47:7); He is King above all gods (Psalm 95:5); He is King forever (Psalm 10:16); He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). God reigns over all, and no man can overthrown His rule.

When playing King of the Mountain, the younger Rettus children would plot to overthrow Sammy. Danny and Joey would use dirt bombs and large reeds to distract him, while the Jon would charge up to overthrow the king. But no matter how hard they tried, Sammy usually ended up on the top of the mound shouting, “I’m king of the mountain!”

Wicked men live their lives as though God could be overthrown. It’s like they’re throwing dirt bombs and using sticks to try to defeat God – the King over all. They attempt to fight against God. But in the end, God will always be king, and the wicked will perish for eternity.

Do you serve God as your King? Or do you live in rebellion under His rule? Do you humbly follow His commands in Scripture to obey your parents (Ephesians 6:1), to love your enemies (Matthew 5:44), and to submit to authority (Hebrews 13:17), or do you ignore His Word? Each day you have a choice: you can live in submission to God your King, or you can live in rebellion against the King of all the earth.

Because God is king, you must submit to His rule.

My Response:
» Do I obey God as my King? Do I follow all of His commandments?

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” (1 Timothy 1:12-13)

In this verse, you see Paul speaking about how God granted him mercy for his past sins because he did them “ignorantly in unbelief.” This is a miracle God does for each new believer. All past sins are forgiven by the Lord and that person is now guilt-free. The new follower now has power through the Holy Spirit to pray and hear God, to read the Bible and understand what it says! This great power was unavailable before the person accepted Christ as his Savior. What an advantage a believer and follower of Christ has over those who do not believe! When a believer acts upon what the Lord has taught, that follower has perfect power from God.

These verses are also a warning for those who have this power – for those who are not “ignorant or unbelieving.” When a believer sins, he has failed to use the power he was free to access. When an unbeliever sins, he doesn’t have access to this power. God’s mercy is great enough to forgive and wipe away the sins of both believers and unbelievers, but the believer’s sin was done in knowledge, and it etches a deeper wound. The believer’s sin can sever the trust of other believers, leaving the person with less responsibility, respect, and influence in God’s work on earth. More importantly, if the sin done in knowledge continues, the believer starts to loose contact with God and God’s work in his heart.

God loves all people, but He cannot give His power to those who are not willing to follow. Have you noticed a loss in power? Even a small loss is big – get back to learning and understanding right away. God wants you using His power for all good things in your life and in the lives of those around you. No sin is worth missing out on God’s power in your life.

God makes His power available to those who are right with Him.

My Response:
» Am I failing to make use of God’s power by refusing to acknowledge my sins to God?
» Are there sins I need to confess and forsake so that the Spirit can enable me to do His work?

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Julie was sad. Sarah, her sister, had always been her best friend, but now Sarah was too busy to play. Every fall Julie and Sarah made big piles of leaves and jumped in them with their dog, Taffy. But this year every time Julie asked Sarah to play in the leaves she had to study or to go to basketball practice or call one of her friends.

Now all the leaves were gone, and Julie wondered whether Sarah would be too busy to play in the snow this year, too. When Julie asked her mother why Sarah didn’t play with her anymore, Mother said that Sarah was growing up and changing. Mother said that everyone changes and that Julie would change one day, too. “The only person who never changes is Jesus,” Mother said. Julie was glad that Jesus never changed.

Have you ever been sad because someone changed? Maybe you have a brother or a sister who is growing up, or a grandpa or grandma who is getting older. Nobody can keep people from changing, but the Bible tells us that Jesus will never change. Jesus will always be reliable. He promises never to leave you, and He listens to everything you want to say to Him all the time. Isn’t it good to know that He will always be the same!

Although other people change, Jesus will never change.

My Response:
» Do I trust Jesus all the time, knowing that He never changes?
» Do I thank Jesus for never changing?