Is it a blessing in disguise? Whenever you go through a tough situation in your life, Here are three ways to know It’s a blessing in disguise…
Sometimes things happen which we will never understand. Things like the loss of a job, the end of a relationship, or even the death of a loved one can hurt us to our core.
It’s hard to see the bright side when you’re filled with so much grief and doubt.
3 Ways To Know It’s a Blessing in Disguise:
1. Did it humble you?
Sometimes we forget that we still need God even when things are going well in our lives.
Sometimes when life is smooth sailing we stop praying as much, praising God as much, going to church as much, or start to believe that we are better than others.
I’ve personally experienced this. When I lost my job, I had to live on a strict budget. It meant going without some of the lavish things that I didn’t particularly need.
I didn’t need them, but I wanted them. What I found was… that I was just fine without those things.
Because of that difficult era in my life, I’ve adapted better spending habits.
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. (Psalms 25:9)
In Daniel 4:28-36 we learn of how God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar took credit for God’s great doings and I’m sure this angered God.
In Daniel 4:30 Nebuchadnezzar says “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Before he could even finish those words God revoked his royal authority.
God took every thing away from him and sent him to the wilderness to be alone.
It wasn’t until Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself before the Lord restored Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
2. Did it bring you closer to God?
Twelve years ago, my mom passed away. I will never forget that day. So many mixed emotions consumed me as I prepared for her funeral. I wondered why God would take her away from me when I needed her the most.
I was going through a divorce and facing unemployment all at the same time. Talk about when it rains it pours.
To add to it all, at that time I was not the praying woman that I am today.
A relationship with God was non existent in my life. I hadn’t been to church since I was a teenager. With everything that was going wrong in my life, I wasn’t even sure if i believed in God, to be honest.
Fast forward to my mom’s funeral, I cried the entire service. Not because I was mourning the loss of my mother or because I was angry at God for taking her away.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)
This was my first time stepping inside a church in years and for the first time I felt a since of peace and calmness. It was a feeling I still can’t explain to this day.
Whatever this feeling was, I just wanted it to stay. My mom’s funeral was the start of a beautiful relationship with God.
I don’t believe for one minute that God took my mom as a punishment to me, but I do believe that as a result of her death, He lead me to the right church and pastor to help me grow closer to Him.
Although, I still miss my mom tremendously to this day, I am able to see the bright side of her passing. I gave my life to Christ because of her. I’m sure she’s proudly looking down on me from heaven.
3. Did you find His grace to be sufficient?
After it’s all said and done, God always knows best. He works it out for our good. I can’t name a single time when God took anything away from me without replacing it something much better.
It didn’t happen overnight and I didn’t like the dreadful process, but His grace always made a way.
I remember when a friend of mine was laid off from her job. She cried for days, maybe even weeks.
Not because she loved her job so much, but because for the first time in a long time she was uncertain of what her future now held.
She didn’t know if she would lose her home and was unsure whether or not she would be able to provide for her children.
However, she hated the job with every fibre of her being and she prayed to God daily for a new job. She’d even ask others to pray for her as well.
She had been on many job interviews, but none of them ended well. All paying about the same as her last job or less.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
One day she came across a job listing for a position which was “way out of her league”. According to the requirements listed in the job description, she was under qualified.
She figured, since she hadn’t been blessed with any of the others, she had nothing to lose at this point.
She applied, They called her a week later to extend an invitation for an interview.
By the end of that interview, the interviewer basically told her that the position was hers.
Under the condition that everything on her job application was verified to be true and pending her background check. She wasn’t worried about that.
Here she was, stressed out because she couldn’t even get a minimum wage job, not knowing that the minimum wage job was EXACTLY what God was trying to deliver her from.
God heard every one of her prayers. Yes He may have taken away her job, but He replaced it with one paying almost 3 times the amount she was used to earning and one which she loved.
