Psalm 30:11-12 ‘Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing unto Thee’
DAILY READING Matthew 2; Exodus 22:1-23:33; Proverbs 10
Oswald Jeffrey Smith was a Canadian pastor, author, and missions advocate, who founded The Peoples Church in Toronto in 1928. Smith attended the Toronto Bible Training School, the Manitoba Presbyterian College in Winnipeg, and the McCormick Seminary in Chicago. In 1920, as an 18 year old boy, he had wanted to travel as a missionary of the Gospel to foreign nations. But the Presbyterian Church examining board that was selecting missionaries turned down his application. He had failed their physical health test; indicating he was not strong enough to be sent out on missions. Oswald was utterly devastated, and disappointed by the news. It seemed his life dream to be a missionary had shattered before his eyes. However, after seeking God’s face, he got the assurance that though he may not go as a missionary, he would build a church which could send out missionaries. Though later ordained as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in 1918, he however resigned from the Presbyterian Church, and set up a church in Toronto, which merged with a small Christian and Missionary Alliance congregation in 1921. In 1928, he started another independent church in Toronto, the Peoples Church. Using his base in Toronto for fundraising, he traveled the world to recruit missionaries. The People’s church would eventually send out more missionaries than any other church at that time. Oswald J. Smith raised about $14,000,000.00 for foreign missions, more than any other pastor in his time, and half of this was from his own church. Over the course of eighty years he preached more than 12,000 sermons in 80 countries, wrote thirty-five books (with translations into 128 languages), as well as 1,200 poems, of which 100 have been set to music. Indeed what had seemed a huge disappointment when the Presbyterian board turned down his offfer, had led to a great blessing! Indeed what men call disappointments, could actually be divine appointments in disguise.
Psalm 30:11-12 says ‘Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing unto Thee’
God is able to turn every mourning into dancing for you. There is no dissappointing situation or circumstance facing you today that God cannot handle. If your aim is to get ahead in life, you will face disappointing situations at one time or the other. But the difference between the winners and losers is the way they view such setbacks. While losers see setback as the end of the road, winners only see it as a bend in the road. There will be times when situations may not seem fair. But the question is how do you react at such times? Someone said life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. Never let people’s actions determine the outcome of your life. Don’t ever let how someone treated you become the fullstop in your life story. No matter what happened, you can put it behind you, still forge ahead and become all that God said you are to be in life. What the enemy meant for evil, God can always turn around for your good. Therefore don’t just sit and bemoan your fate over disappointments. Rather seek God in prayer and find out what His will is concerning you. Sit down and study The Word, until you feel faith arise in your heart to go forth and by the power of The Spirit accomplish God’s plan for your life. When you follow the leading of The Spirit, no matter how initially disappointing things may seem, God is able to cause all things to work together for your good. Indeed to everyone called of God, what may appear as disappointments at first, soon becomes a testimony. What was meant to be a stumbling block soon becomes your stepping stone to victory. This is because God causes all things to work together for your good, because you love Him and are called according to His purpose.
PRAYER: Lord, I thank You for turning every disappointment into a blessing in my life. I know that even right now, You are at work in my life to cause all things to work together for my good in Jesus Name.
QUOTE
Faith is more than just believing, it is acting upon The Word that you believe.