Assembly of God
Sheryl Franco
Co-Pastor
After a particularly harrowing day of work in Los Angeles, leaving for home later than usual, I was attempting to merge onto the downtown slot of the 101 freeway. Traffic was jamming up just where I needed to enter the freeway lanes. If someone didn’t let me over soon, I would have to remain in the lane that would take me off at Los Angeles Street and cross town through an unfamiliar industrial area. Nobody was being nice that day, and I was forced to get off the freeway. I was not happy with my fellow man at that moment.
As I followed the off-ramp, blinking red and blue lights caught my eye just on the other side of the overcrossing at Alameda, where the cars had bottle necked. My car radio was always tuned to news and traffic in those days. Just as I passed the emergency lights, the anchor reported that an armed, impaired person had been running in traffic lanes on the freeway and was now in a standoff with law enforcement. The freeway had been shut down indefinitely. On the news that night, I learned that the freeway had remained closed for three hours. Had someone been nice and allowed me to merge onto the freeway, I would have been trapped. The Los Angeles Street exit was the last exit prior to where the standoff was taking place. Unbeknownst to me, I had been forced to take the only way out at the last possible opportunity.
Some might call that fate, chance or a stroke of good luck. I choose to thankfully acknowledge that God is working all things together for my good (Rom. 8:28), even in situations where I don’t immediately recognize his presence or his hand. We have all experienced disappointments, roadblocks, diversions, rerouting and delays. Our typical response is “Why, God, why?” Maybe it was a job offer that didn’t work out, a house deal that fell through, or a relationship that ended unexpectedly. We get angry, pout, or blame God or others for our apparent misfortune. But God promises that he is working all things together to benefit those who love him. The Passion translation says, “Every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives…for we have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.”
People who love God and carry out his purpose are not magically immune from hardship. Believers are persecuted around the world. You or someone you care about may be afflicted with illness or a disability. However, we are encouraged to know that God uses the adversity we go through to bring about good things. Gold is refined by heat. Iron is shaped in fire. Butterflies struggle out of the cocoon to develop the strength in their wings to fly. God can use the thing that is most worrisome to you right now to bring blessing greater than you can imagine. His plans are perfect. His will is always for your ultimate good. We may not see it when the waves of adversity are high, when doubt and fear cloud our spiritual vision. That is the exact moment we need to claim the promise of Romans 8:28 in faith over fear. Child of God, stand on that promise!
We invite you to join Assembly of God on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m. in the Amphitheater. You will be encouraged by Pastor Chuck’s message from God’s word while in community with people who love Jesus.
