When times of trouble and hardship come our way, we are to have faith that
all things will work together for good and not evil. Many times when a 
problem comes our way, we are quick to murmur and complain and judge that
situation as completely negative where no good can come from it. We are to
remember that our God created the heavens and the earth simply by speaking
them into existence and when we make our problems bigger than our God, we
are in essence tying the hands of Almighty God and saying to Him that He is
not able to deliver us from our trials and bring good out of them. Instead,
we are to remember the mighty works of God and have confidence that He is
with us and will bring good out of every bad situation that comes our way. 
Be encouraged to not judge your situation as unfixable, but rather see the
big picture and know that with God all things are possible. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

I hope you are both encouraged and challenged by today's message to trust
the Lord at all times and know that all things will work together for good
to those will love God and are called according to His purpose.


JUDGMENT

Judgment means a stale state of mind. And mind always wants judgment, 
because to be in a process is always hazardous and uncomfortable. Be very
very courageous, don't stop growing, live in the moment, simply stay in 
the flow of life.

This story happened in the days of Lao Tzu in China:

There was an old man in a village, very poor, but even kings were jealous
of him because he had a beautiful white horse. Kings offered fabulous 
prizes for the horse, but the man would say, "This horse is not a horse to
me, he is a person. And how can you sell a person, a friend?" The man was
poor, but he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. The whole 
village gathered and said, "You foolish old man! We knew that someday the
horse would be stolen. It would have been better to sell it. What a misfortune!"

The old man said, "Don't go so far as to say that. Simply say that the 
horse is not in the stable. This is the fact; everything else is judgment.
Whether it is a misfortune or a blessing I don't know, because this is just
a fragment. Who knows what is going to follow it?"

People laughed at the old man. They had always known he was a little 
crazy. But after fifteen days, suddenly one night the horse returned. He 
had not been stolen; he had escaped into the wild. And not only that, he 
had brought a dozen wild horses with him.

Again the people gathered and they said, "Old man, you were right. This 
was not a misfortune; it has indeed proved to be a blessing."

The old man said, "Again you are going too far. Just say that the horse is
back...who knows whether it is a blessing or not? It is only a fragment. 
You read a single word in a sentence - how can you judge the whole book?"

This time the people could not say much, but inside they knew that he was
wrong. Twelve beautiful horses had come.

The old man had an only son who started to train the horses. Just a week 
later he fell from a horse and his legs were broken. The people gathered 
again and again they judged. They said, "Again you proved right! It was a
misfortune. Your only son has lost the use of his legs, and in your old 
age he was your only support. Now you are poorer than ever."

The old man said, "You are obsessed with judgment. Don't go that far. Say
only that my son had broken his legs. Life comes in fragments and more is
never given to you."

It happened that after a few weeks the country went to war, and all the 
young men of the town were forcibly taken for the military. Only the old 
man's son was left because he was crippled. The whole town was crying and
weeping, because it was a losing fight and they knew that most of the young
people would never come back. They came to the old man and they said, "You
were right, old man - this has proved a blessing. Maybe your son is 
crippled, but he is still with you. Our sons are gone forever."

The old man said again, "You go on and on judging. Nobody knows! Only say
this, that your sons have been forced to enter the army and my son has not
been forced. But only God, the total, knows whether it is a blessing or a
misfortune."

Judge not, otherwise you will never become one with the total. With 
fragments you will be obsessed, with small things you will jump to 
conclusions. Once you judge you have stopped growing. Judgment means a 
stale state of mind. And mind always wants judgment, because to be in a 
process is always hazardous and uncomfortable. So go ahead, enjoy the 
journey.

In fact the journey never ends. One path ends, another begins: one door 
closes, another opens. You reach a peak; a higher peak is always there. God
is an endless journey. Only those who are so courageous that they don't
bother about the goal (for it shall always be there), but are content with
the journey, content to just live in the moment and grow into it, only
those are able to walk in the total.

Author Unknown


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

Psalm 118:4-6 "Let them now that fear the LORD say, that His mercy 
endureth for ever. I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered 
me, and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear:
what can man do unto me?"

Romans 8:28 "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."

Psalm 146:5-9 "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose
hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and 
all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth 
judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD 
looseth the prisoners: The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD 
raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: The LORD
preserveth the strangers; He relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the 
way of the wicked He turneth upside down."

Psalm 107:19-22 "Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He 
saveth them out of their distresses. He sent His word, and healed them,
and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the
LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His 
works with rejoicing."

All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.


Today's Selected Poem: KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem120.htm

Today's Selected Testimony: WHEN THE LORD CALLED MY NAME
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony135.htm


In Christ's Service, 

Dwayne Savaya 
Gods Work Ministry