"Not Why, How"

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

For those of you who don't know, I was involved in an accident yesterday. I was heading to the nursing home and was in the turn lane when a truck pulled into my lane on me. He did not see me coming until it was too late. When I saw him, it was too late. I am fine, no one was injured, the vehicles are going to need some repair but we were both able to drive them away from the scene.

When things happen to us, we tend to start asking the question- WHY?? I would like to clarify something this morning, the question is not "why" but "how". There are some things that happen that we will never know why they happened. So for the Christian we need to focus on the "how"- how can God get glory from this, how can I use this as a testimony to give Him praise, how can I witness to others about God through this.

In my case yesterday, I want to turn this situation around for God's glory this morning. His faithfulness, grace and mercy were there. No one was hurt, the vehicles were drivable, the impact was not hard. I thank God that my grandbaby was not with me because he hit me on the side she rides on. It could have been worse. The policeman told us that there was another wreck a week or so ago in that same area and it was really bad. Something exciting about the whole situation was that the man who hit me was so nice, the policeman was so nice, I had just an overwhelming feeling of grace surrounding me, wasn't the least bit upset or nervous- that was God. The really exciting part was that the three of us talked about the Lord. The man who hit me, turns out, goes to church with my sister and she said that he just got saved about a year ago and has a wonderful testimony that he never minds sharing. The policeman when calling in my tag number spelled it out then said it- it is personalized and reads "are you forgiven". He told me that he did that intentionally so that everyone who was on the radios would hear it and perhaps it would touch some lives. I was thrilled! All things truly do work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. This whole situation has, is and will glorify God, that's one of the reasons I am sharing it this morning, that He might get glory through this testimony of His loving-kindness, great grace, tender mercies, protection and provision.

When bad things happen to us, and they do and will, the Bible tells us that, we need to change our way of thinking as "kingdom people" and stop thinking and dwelling on the "why" and start dwelling on "how"- how can I give God praise and glory through this, how can He be exalted through the situation? In doing so the enemy is defeated in this area because it cuts him off leaving him with nothing to use against you. In doing so others will be encouraged and blessed and perhaps their faith will be renewed. In doing so our Father is honored because it is a reflection on who He is and He will be glorified.

Have a great day. Stop always asking "why" because you may never get the answer. Instead, start asking "how".- how can I glorify God through this? Once you do, it will lift you above the situation and you will see God's grace and glory.

For further reading:
Matthew 5:45
John 9:2,3
2 Timothy 1:12
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
John 11: 20- 40