The Worst or the Best?
“But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will.”
Acts 4:28 (NLT)
Are you in a difficult circumstance today? Are you suffering from a health concern, family problems, financial difficulties, or something similar? If so, you probably don’t see any good coming from it. Most of us wonder how something good could come from something so bad.
The disciples must have thought the same thing when Jesus was crucified. How could this happen to the Messiah? What possible good could come from such a tragedy?
Just hours earlier they were enjoying His company, listening to Him pray for them. Peter boasted that he was willing to die for Him. “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.” (John 13:37 NLT)
When Jesus was forcibly taken, however, the disciples fled and went into hiding.
“That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.“ (John 20:19 NLT)
They didn’t believe what happened next, even though eyewitnesses told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. But it was true. Jesus had died but was resurrected!
“And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.“ (John 3:14-17 NLT)
The worst situation in history became the cornerstone of our Christian faith. It was through the pain, suffering, and death of the Lord Jesus that the greatest possible good had come to the world.
Now, in Acts 4, the infant church was being persecuted by the authorities, but they were beginning to understand that God uses bad things to work good. They start their prayer reminding God that what happened to Jesus had been determined beforehand.
”And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30 NLT)
Can you see how the Lord took bad things in your past and used them for good? Use that history with God to help you face your present problem, regardless of how overwhelming it seems. Your worst situation may turn out to be the best for you, by the sovereign grace of God.
”And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)