And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28)

The above scripture is one of my Aunt Betty’s most quoted scriptures. It    really does bring us peace of mind if we can really believe that He will work ALL things together for good. Below is a spiritual direction session I had with my Aunt Betty. Her words are in red:

God is in every situation and He can only be seeking our good.  We need to stand on the rock of truth and be strong.  Sit before the Lord and pray.  Don’t go ahead and try to control the future.  That is part of the death to self.  Hold this scripture close to your heart:  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28).  Say, “Yes, Lord I believe you are true.  All things work together for good.  Lord, I trust the good you want to bring out of this.”

God’s word will not pass away.  Chew the Word.  Say the prayer over and over to yourself.   “When you make my word your home, you will learn the truth and the truth will set you free. “  Sacred Heart of Jesus I place my trust in You.

See your disappointment move to the cross.  Let it go.  Don’t let it build up.  If Satan tries to tempt you to go into the “if only” or “what if,” let it go to the cross.  Stop judging yourself in your decisions.

“I only want to do God’s will.”  That’s where the gold is.  Put everything in Jesus’ hands.   God is about bringing this to your good, but you have to cooperate.  When things happen, hold it up to the Lord.  Whenever you start feeling down, turn it in the opposite direction.  Praise God anyhow.  When things seem down, praise and thank God for all the good coming out of it even though you don’t see it.  This can help you get through some really dark places.  Stand on the rock; Jesus is the rock within us.  He’s truth and He can’t lie.  Keep turning it towards drawing closer to God.  Things will change for the good.  Keep telling yourself, “Lord, you are bringing good out of this.”

See your problem in Jesus’ hands.  Keep praying these things rather than letting Satan drag you into anxiety.  Don’t let Satan get anything out of this.  When you turn to God in prayer, it discourages Satan.  Let God be glorified even in your pains.

When I taught Confirmation years ago, there was a teen in my class who was troubled, but he was trying to change his life.   I had been praying for him, and one day the police came to school to bust those using drugs.  I got an image of Jesus standing with His arms folded and His body leaning against the door.  I cried out to the Lord and said, “Do something!”  I heard him say clearly, “I will when you get out of the way, and stop trying to be his savior.”  My job was to intercede for the teen to cooperate with grace, but not to save him.  We mean well, but we are interfering.

Anxiety is part of the pseudo-savior trying to control things.  That interferes with the real Savior.  You don’t want the pseudo-savior, because God can’t pay homage to a false god.  So, we block Him.  We try to save the situation ourselves.  We have to renounce that and get out of God’s way, and depend on God.  We can slow down the healing, because we get in there with our ego thinking we will bring change, so it necessitates that God will step back, and let us save it ourselves.

When we are anxious, it is telling us that we are relying on ourselves and not God.  Anxiety is an indication that we are in our false savior, because if we were relying on the Lord, we would be at peace.  When we are anxious, we are reliant on our own ego power.  It is our need to save the situation.  The more we let go, and trust God with the situation, the more God is free to act.

That isn’t to say you shouldn’t use all of your talents and common sense.  Pray and lift it up, but also look at what God is giving you in your common sense.  If you want to save the situation yourself, go ahead.  But don’t try to do both.  Either give it to God, and put all your trust in Him or don’t.  People give things over to God, but then they get an idea and run with it rather than waiting on the Lord.  It takes awhile to mean what you say in prayer and not play games taking it back.