All things work TOGETHER for our Good

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

This Bible verse takes a lot of abuse. We misquote it a lot and one variation that I hear often is "all things work out for good". This is what causes a lot of people to doubt its validity. This misquote causes us to expect every situation to work out in our favour. When it doesn't, we blame and doubt God.

What this scripture is really saying is that no matter how many difficult situations you may face, in the end God's plan is that all the tiny pieces of the puzzle will come together and the big picture will be something great.

You see each situation has a purpose in our lives; and it's not to frustrate us, but to mold us for the future. Our reaction to each one is important because it determines whether we are ready for the next stage in our process. God never promised that we'd have stress free lives but He did promise that He would always have our backs (Hebrews 13:5b).

Remember that in the end all these tiny situations that cause us headaches will come together and work out in our favour. It's always at the end of the puzzle that we realize what each piece was for. The same thing goes for life. You will realize how each situation or struggle has come together for your good at the end when you look back and marvel at how God worked it out.

Till then, keep on trusting God. Know that He is busy putting your puzzle together and it WILL work out according to His plan if your trust him and do what He asks.

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Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Obsessed With Our Desires

We all have desires for our lives; things that we want, things that we want to do, things that we want to be. Sometimes, these desires overcome us or overwhelm us. It's quite possible to develop tunnel vision where these are concerned. Maybe, as you get older, you realize that it's taking a really long time to achieve your goals, or maybe nothing seems to be working out right. Two things can happen at this point, you can give up on your goals, dreams or desires or becoming so obsessed with them that you see, hear or feel nothing else. None of these outcomes are good ones and none of them are what God requires of us.

I've learned the hard way that God sometimes withholds the things we desire most from us simply because we place so much emphasis on it. Its not that he doesn't want to give you the desires of your heart, but rather, he wants you to want Him more than anything else in this world. When you begin to focus on anything else with such tenacity, it becomes your god. Your real God will not allow that to happen. Its very easy to destroy our relationship with God when earthly desires get in the way. They become our focus and sometimes, the only thing we pray for. They consume us so much that we forget to see the other good things in life. We don't count our blessings anymore, instead we pine and dwell on the things God hasn't given us yet.

I recently learned that sometimes when you let go of the thing you desire most, that's when God steps in to give it to you. Of course, it does not work that way all of the time, God only gives what we can handle. But sometimes He really does what to give us that thing that we desire but we're so obsessed with it, He has to hold it back. When we recognize our obsession and step back and give it up, living our lives according to His will, He steps in and gives us the best.

God is supreme and sovereign and He won't share His worship with anything, including our personal desires. Examine your heart and whatever it is that you desire, ensure that it has not taking His place. Ensure that it's not the only thing that you pray for. If it is, change your prayer to "let your will be done in my life". Totally surrender your will to His with no strings attached and be willing to accept a "no" for the thing you want most. If you can't accept His will in place of your desires, then you haven't really surrendered. Don't get me wrong, its probably one of the hardest things you will ever do, but its the right thing to do. Until then, you'll be struggling for something you'll never get.

Please note that I am not saying that you shouldn't have goals and desires because without these life would be pretty empty, however, never ever let them be your sole purpose for living.

Have a blessed day!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

To grab your copy, click here. 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Avoiding self-inflicted depression

Some times we humans crave for things we shouldn't have. Maybe an extra candy bar when we're trying to lose a few pounds, or maybe it's relationship that's off limits for whatever reason. Since the garden of Eden, man has wanted what wasn't good for them.

I'm sure we've all found ourselves in the situation where God has said no about something we want yet we continue to toy with the idea in our heads. We romanticize the moment when we finally get want we want, dreaming of the possibilities and how beautiful it will be. We day-dream and obsess and obsess and obsess. And the more we obsess, the more we need to torture ourselves at the end of the day when we're reminded that the things we spent the day dreaming about can never happen.  When the harsh reality hits, we're on the brink of depression and all we can think to do is blame God. "Lord, why can't things ever work out for me? I never get anything that I want. Everybody is happy except me." Does that sound at all familiar?

Does the thing you want most but know you can't have consume your thoughts? Do you dream that just for one moment things will be different and you will get to have want to really want. Then you need to quit torturing yourself. The answer is already no and God won't change his mind. Dwelling on the situation daily will not make Him change His decision. All it does at the end of the day is make you bitter, angry and depressed. You're destroying yourself and in the process you're failing to see the good things that God has in store for you; the things that are actually yours. Your life could be a lot happier if you'd accept the things you can't have and look to God with trust for your future.

Stop the self destructive behavior. Instead of dwelling on what you can't have, occupy your mind with something productive. Learn a new skill that falls in line with your life plan. Develop a new hobby. Play music while you work to keep your thoughts from straying. Actively monitor your thoughts. When you notice that you have slipped, make a decision to stop and deliberately occupy your mind with some thing else. And of course, ask God for help to overcome the thoughts and the obsession with whatever desire you have. Believe it or not, he will provide a way of escape but you have to be willing to move on and your eyes must be open to see what he's brought you.

Have a blessed day and remember to take control of your thought life. 

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Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

The Big Picture

As mere humans, we never really have a total picture of what's happening in our lives. Each circumstance or situation seems unique until God opens our eyes and allows us to see the real deal, the whole picture that encompasses each puzzle piece that we used to see in isolation.


In September last year, I wrote a post titled "When God's desires become yours". Back then, I asked God for a very specific thing, and He said no. I was disappointed, but I chose to trust him. Six months later, I figured out why he said no. The Big Picture.  You see the thing I wanted so badly turned out to be rather unattractive at the end of the day. Now, it repulses me. Guess what? God knew that.

We humans are pretty myopic. Fancy glitter and glamour confuses us and blinds us to the truth about the situations around us. We are ALWAYS making decisions without all the information simply because we can never, ever know everything. That's why trusting God when He says no makes so much sense. He has the big picture and He knows everything about everything. Would you rather rely on your limited information like I was doing or would you go with God's choice for you, knowing that He knows what will change in six months time.

It may be hard to accept a "no" answer from God but remember that He is the one making the informed decision, not us. I'm ecstatic now, realising that He saved me from another disastrous situation. Had I ignored Him and gone ahead on my own, I'd be nursing some severe wounds right about now just like I had to in the past. I'm pretty sure that you have had some of those situations. We humans like to be in control of our own destiny but here's a bit of a newsflash. We are NEVER in control of our own destiny. If God is not controlling it, then the devil is. Not us. We are not our own masters, no matter how much in control we think we are. If God is not guarding and guiding us, then the devil is bound to be manipulating us for his own pleasure. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have my destiny driven by someone with my best interest at heart.

I challenge you today to accept that last "no" you received from God. I guarantee that maybe a few weeks, months or even years from now, all the pieces of the puzzle will come together and you will realise that you were being protected from your own desires. Trust God with your Future, He's the only one who knows what it really looks like.

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo