Article Library

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By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

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Viewing Life’s Misfortunes as a New Beginning

“How easy for us when life doesn’t resolve quickly to think that some misfortune, some real trial that we’re going through marks virtually the end of life as we’ve known it. When in reality, it may very well be a whole new beginning.”

God’s Plan Unfolding

“I don’t know what you’re going through, but God knows. In fact, the good thing about God’s knowledge is that he not only knows where you are, He knows where all of this is leading. You don’t. You know the past fairly well, depending on your memory. You know the present quite well, but you know nothing beyond this second and moment in time. In light of that, you are limited in your understanding and your perspective is skewed. None of that affects God’s will or God’s plan. It’s unfolding. It’s unrolling, regardless of our partial knowledge or our limited understanding or our skewed perspective. His will is taking place. Your personal trial, right now included. If He wished for it to be different, it would be different. He doesn’t. Therefore, what you are going through is exactly what He has planned for you to go through.”

Let Difficulties Drive You to Your Knees

“I hope you will not know early success. Rather, I hope you will encounter difficulties early on that will shatter your self-confidence and drive you to your knees. That will teach you the value of vulnerability. It will enable you to keep success from ever going to your head and, even though you may think it never could, pride still lurks in the backwash of our minds.”

What We Know with Confidence

“So, Romans 8:28 comes as an oasis, I like to think of it. First of all, it’s something we know. This is a promise to be claimed, not ignored. I don’t care how well you can quote it or how often you have taught it or referred to it, it is to be claimed. It is an unconditional promise, we know. It’s not something we simply hope for, we know it. It’s not guessing, it’s knowing. We don’t think it’s going to occur, it will occur because God says you can know this. It’s not depending on how we feel about it. No, this is what we know. We have absolute unshakable confidence in this truth.”

Lean on God’s Omniscience “Our problem is we focus, being humans, on the immediate. God focuses on the ultimate. But second, our knowledge is limited. God’s knowledge is limitless. You know by now in your studies, it’s the omniscience of God. He never learns anything. He’s never surprised by anything. It all unfolds exactly as He has designed it. We need the reminder of that regularly.”

Additional Resources

First, sign up for our Chuck’s Insights on Ministry email where we bring you his best thoughts on preaching, leadership, and ministry each week. By signing up, you’ll instantly receive a one-page checklist with 20 preaching insights from Chuck. See this page’s sidebar.

Second, check out our new Preach The Word articles and video series on YouTube where we’re teaching Chuck’s best insights on this important calling.

Third, listen to Chuck’s messages to those in ministry through our Seminary Chapels page. For decades, he offered students at Dallas Theological Seminary his best thoughts on church leadership and ministry. Now, we have put them at your finger tips. Also, you can find them through this YouTube playlist we created for you.

Fourth, if you don’t own a copy of Chuck’s book on preaching, Saying It Well, we highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s his preaching memoir that is also like a practical preaching manual. You won’t be able to put it down.

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