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The Antidote for Anxiety and Depression: Trust in Abba Father’s Care – Pt 42

God Works All Things for Your Good!

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

I used to think that I was the black sheep in my family because I failed all the time. By the time I got to Grade 6 I had already failed so many times that I had only one chance to write the then Common Entrance Exams now called CPEA, and I failed. Anyway, my mother took me to the Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia (EHSM) to take the Entrance Exams for the school and again I failed. However, my failing didn’t stop my mother from trying to get me admitted to the school. On that first September morning of school my mother took me to the school dressed in the school’s uniform and ensured that she had my school fees. My mother presented me to the then Principal, Ms Grace Eustace and asked her to give me a chance to get a secondary education at the school. That morning I was admitted to the school and there began that phase of my life. When everyone else in my family went to school in Kingstown I went to Mesopotamia. I felt ashamed because I thought that EHSM was not a good school since it was not located in Kingstown. Having to take two buses to get to school was a big stressor for me so I struggled a lot with anxiety every morning and evening when it was time to take the bus.

EHSM is a Christian secondary school and every morning from Monday to Friday there was a general devotion or assembly before classes began. On Wednesdays the Inter School’s Christian Fellowship (ISCF) was responsible for leading and there I had the opportunity to participate by either sharing an exhortation from the Word of God or leading in worship or to pray.

Furthermore, I was privileged to have had a sponsor through the Canadian Christian Children Fund programme at the school. My sponsor sent monies to assist with my school fees and school supplies. She also sent me monies and cards on my birthdays and Christmas time. We communicated via letters through the school. After I left school we continue to keep in touch up to this day. In 2011 I was in Toronto Canada and I had the opportunity to meet my sponsor face to face for the first time. It was a very pleasant experience. She is a beautiful white woman inside and out and has really been a blessing to my life. She is a professional graphic designer, now retired, and my personal graphic designer. She designed my logo, appointment card, business card and letterhead for my NGO.

In Romans 8:28 the Apostle Paul states that “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.” I do believe that all things here refer to even the bad, negative, unpleasant, unwanted things that the enemy attacks us with. They also work together for our good, though they are not good or do us any good. Those who love God He has called according to His purpose. God has a purpose for our lives and a plan to carry out His purpose for our lives. Even though the enemy may try to curtail and sabotage God’s purpose for our lives, God works all things together for our good and uses the very plans and attacks of the enemy to accomplish His purposes for our lives. The journey may take a while longer to come to fruition but we will surely reach our destination successfully.

Had I not failed so many times I most likely would not have attended the EHSM. However, even in my receiving a secondary education there was used by God to help accomplish His purpose for me life. Today I am an Evangelist and conference speaker and my training began in my teens as a student at the EHSM in ISCF. It was at the EHSM that my walk with Jesus was nurtured. Additionally, today, I have my own personal graphic designer and treasured relationship with a beautiful woman who was once my sponsor in school. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the world. Moreover, because of my experience having a sponsor at the EHSM and the relationship we developed over the years, as well as having a mother who is a selfless giver, I learnt how to be a selfless giver also and that’s the impetus for my founding Phyllida Empowerment Centres International Inc. (PECI Inc.) which is a non-profit Social Services Organization in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) for your holistic personal developmental needs, especially reaching children and youths. Furthermore, even though I didn’t attend one of the top secondary schools in SVG like my other family members, I was the first in my family to attend university and the first in my family to pursue studies at the Master’s level. Look at God! Indeed a classic example of “…all things working together for good…” (Romans 8:28) and “the last being first” (Matthew 20:16).

If today you are struggling because of the attacks of the enemy and you can’t see a way out. Know that God loves you, He has a purpose for your life and is working ALL things together for your good. It may not seem so now but keep hope alive. He wins every time therefore, your victory in Jesus is assured.

May God bless you!

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father I worship You for You are just, faithful, and mighty. I thank You for Your great love for me and Your purpose for my life. I thank You because You know the plans that you have for me. I thank You for working ALL things, not some things, but ALL things together for my good. I declare today that I will keep hope alive and wait on You Jesus as I continuously trust in You with all my heart. I declare that the enemy’s plans for and attacks on my life are used as stepping stones to accomplish my God given purpose and no matter how long it takes, I will be triumphant. I pray this by faith in Jesus’ mighty name with thanksgiving. Amen!