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Blessings

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"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose."--Romans 8:28


Have you ever made a mistake? Most people have. The question is not so much whether we have made mistakes but whether we are able to turn our blunders into blessings. The same is true with misfortune or "bad luck" occurrences; whether we can turn them to our advantage is a matter of supreme importance.


Even the worst blunders and misfortunes can turn out to our advantage. Consider the story behind Ivory Soap, which is known as the "soap that floats." It is the oldest and one of the most successful soaps on the market today, but its success was the result of a serious blunder.


Years ago, this soap was just another brand among many. Then a factory foreman blundered by leaving a batch of new soap unwatched in the cooking vat during noon hour. His lunch was delayed and the soap overcooked.


Rather than report the mistake and run the risk of dismissal, the foreman decided to make the best of it. He shipped out this new batch anyway. It seemed to clean just as well – although now much lighter. The results surprised everyone. Rather than complaints, the company was deluged with orders for this floating soap. The foreman was not fired but promoted when he cooperated with company chemists to revise and modify the old formula for "the soap that floats."


The same was true of Thomas Edison as he labored for 10 years trying to make his idea for a storage battery work, someone's blunder in his workshop burned the entire company to the ground and with it 10 year of notes and labor. Starting from scratch, Edison rebuilt his company and without his old notes, found fresh ways to attack his problem and came up with a way to invent the storage battery that are so prevalent today. It was the blunder that caused the fire that was a blessing in disguise.


As Christians, we know that it is possible to make something better out of something bad. When things look their worst is when they can become a resource for our improvement. That's the way God works with us. We don't often do right the first time, but He's always ready to salvage the situation no matter how bad we make it. He can take our blunders and make them blessings if we will trust him as our Lord and Savior.


This text finds Paul explaining to the Corinthians the nature of the Christian experience as it relates to setbacks and persecutions. He explained to the Corinthians that the entire life of man is a suffering experience designed to move him toward a glorious end which is in heaven.


The entire 8th Chapter of Romans, believed by some to be one of the most inspirational books of the Bible, focuses on Christians need to be guided by the spirit. It is the spirit of God that will guide and keep us, despite the frailty of the human flesh and will.


In verses 12-17, Paul notes that while we are saved by grace, we should strive with every fiber of our being to live right and do the right things. When we are striving to do right, the Holy Spirit automatically locks in on a spiritual cruise control that ensures that we maintain the right course.


Verses 18-25 emphasize how setbacks, mistakes and adversities should be expected by every Christian because it is the nature of the struggle. Paul notes that we should concentrate on the end, rather than the means of any experience. The central thought of this text verse is that we should focus on the outcome of a matter rather than the troubling details of the moment.


This powerfully short verse, when coupled with the rest of the 8th Chapter suggests that the Christian should approach each event of life looking at the end rather than the means, confident that if he is guided by the spirit of God that all things would work "together" for his good and he will eventually profit from every situation no matter how frustrating it appears at the moment.


In verse 31 Paul summed up the central conclusion of the chapter, "What shall we say then to these things, If God be for us, who can be against us?" With that knowledge and assurance concluded that nothing would discourage him in his service of God, not prospect of life or the threat of death. The power of governments, fears of past failures and present trials, nor any other situations would be successful in separating him from the love of God. His focus remained on the end rather than the means. He always projected that we are "more than conquerors through him that loved us."


What is a blunder? Simply put, a blunder is a sidetracked good intention. It is an effort that had a noble and rightful intent but somehow got off track an ended in trouble, adversity, persecution or heartache. We have seen many examples of good intentions leading to serious troubles once they were exposed to human frailty.


No one is immune to blunders in judgment, but the key element in the analysis of the crises, is the "intent." Paul's writing to the Corinthians suggested that if the Christian is guided by the Holy Spirit and his intent is to do the right thing, but somehow it becomes tangled and backfires, God will work it out for the Christian's advantage in the long run. We may foul up the "means" but God controls the "ends." He promises us that it will be to our advantage in the end.


Think about the last big mistake you made in your life. How can you know whether it will work out to your advantage? The concluding phrase of verse 28 gives the key: "according to his purpose." The question to ask is whether the action we made was in line with the general purposes and will of God. If we are trying to act in accord to God's will and foul up, God will take care of it. If we draw persecutions and trouble while in the process of trying to do that which is right, the events will work themselves together for our blessing in the end.


Christians who have made blunders and mistakes in life should not wallow in self-pity but remember that those who make honest mistakes will not be completely devastated unless they lose hope.


In verse 24, Paul makes it clear that we keep going because we are "saved by hope." This hope is rooted in our faith that despite circumstances, no matter how frustrating we may be, God will work it out to our advantage in the end. No wonder Paul would say "all things" work together for the good of them that love God!


God has given us many great blessings out of the blunders and mistakes of life. Paul, as a young man, made a blunder when he set out to persecute the church, but along the Damascus Road the Lord turned his blunder into a blessing.


David, described as a man after God's own heart, made a blunder when he fell prey to temptation and took another man's wife, but it was a mistake that he recognized and told the Lord "Create in me oh Lord a clean heart and renew in me a right spirit." It was a blunder that was turned into blessing.


I don't know about you, but I am glad that God can take our blunders and turn them into blessings! I am glad that he can take our failures and turn them into successes!


It was a blessing that Jesus died, but rose early Sunday morning with the victory in his hands!


God bless.







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