It was Sunday morning and all the “normal” stuff was happening at our house. I had finished curling my hair and dressing and was headed down to get some breakfast then head out the door for prayer before the service. My husband had already kissed me and was headed to go on before me. A few minutes later I walked into kitchen and saw his suit coat hanging on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, revealing that he was still home. “Hmmm, that’s odd,” I thought.

Walking down the hall, I could hear unpleasant sounds coming from the half bath where he was losing whatever was on his stomach. I helped as much as I could, wiping his brow, holding his head, and then stopping to pray over his shoulder. He made his way on wobbly legs to the sofa, where he gingerly laid back and explained to me that his vertigo troubles had hit HARD.

The next couple of hours repeated our earlier positions and I could only pray for him and wonder why we were hindered from attending church. He had prepared to preach from Revelation 2 and was so excited about the message. He was eager to baptize the new converts and see another family join the church. Why this sickness? Why now?

He was finally able to slowly make his way upstairs and situate himself on the bed to rest. I took my Bible and went to one of the other bedrooms nearby where I could read and not disturb my patient. I opened to Proverbs 12 and began meditating on the passage. When I got to verse 21a my attention was halted. It reads:

There shall no evil happen to the just:

I knew it couldn’t mean that nothing bad or hard could happen to a believer – look at today. But what does this mean? I looked it up in a commentary and here’s what I found out – For the believer, even evil things have been allowed through God’s sovereign hands and He decrees that evil to happen, but then he overrules the evil and turns it into something good!  When we see it from that perspective, it won’t be evil at all! 

I had wondered if it was Satan hindering my husband from preaching the truth of Revelation. It made me scowl, but now in my mind I could just see my Righteous Judge hitting the gavel on the table of His justice and saying, “Overruled! I will see to it that this is for good!”

I heard of some wonderful things that happened at church yesterday as our son-in-law preached.

My husband was feeling better Monday morning, and though we still don’t know exactly what the Lord was up to, we know that is was overruled for OUR GOOD!

What is going on in your life that seems to be evil? Listen for the gavel on the table and God’s words, “Overruled for good!” That will remove the scowl off your face and replace the joy in your heart!

With love,