Sunday, July 12, 2015

"Winning Over Disappointment" 2


Advertisers and writers are told of words to avoid in their usage of the Headlines. Here are the three: Easy, Credit and Free. May I add, nowhere in God’s headlines for success are easy, credit and free. Jesus tells each of his kids, “In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Jesus never said that life would be easy, or that you could charge your troubles and pay on some installment plan for another season. Or that there would be no cost for our freedom and liberty in Christ. HE paid it all!

Acts 27 tells us about the apostle Paul who was a prisoner on a ship heading to Rome with 275 men. A storm came down with such fierce intensity that it broke the ship apart. Paul had warned the men, “You should have listened to me in not departing from Crete”, but this night God sent his Angel who told me, “Stay with the ship and no life will be lost.”

You may not realize it today, but God can turn your Disappointment into a Divine Appointment. Paul and the prisoners after a long storm would eventually swim to the shoreline of the island of Malta. There, the people would welcome them and build a fire for the cold, broken battered men. While Paul was putting sticks on the fire, a poisonous snake came out and bit him. The people said, “He must be a murderer and will die.” Paul shook the snake off into the fire and didn’t swell up and die.

When he didn’t die they said, “He must be a god.” Well, Paul wasn’t a god, but He did rise up above his disappointment and showed them how powerful his God was. God was about to bless the island of Malta for their giving hearts to this group of strangers. Who would openly give so willingly to prisoners? They did! They welcomed them and helped them with their setback. When Paul didn’t die, they knew something miraculous was going on.

Then they brought the sick to Paul and people were miraculously healed and God was glorified and praised on that island. Did you know the island of Malta is known today as the most giving island in the world? 83% of that island gives to charity. Blessing 276 prisoners with a welcome turned into them receiving healings and people getting well from their sicknesses and diseases.

When will any of us see that God can turn our winds of adversity, our pain of difficulty, our setbacks, struggles and our stress into Great Victories and Wins for the trajectory of our life? Malta ended up being blessed with the lame walking, the blind seeing, and sick bodies being healed and changed forever.

Why not start looking, hoping and expecting for God to turn your disappointment into a deliverance, not only you but for somebody else too. Be encouraged today that life may not be easy and free, but somebody is watching over you to turn your disappointments into divine appointments for you and somebody else.  

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