What the devil meant for evil…

I was just thinking of how wonderful God is to me and how blessed I am!!!

You see, the ringtone, Beautiful by Mercy Me, is on my phone now because God gave it to me!!!  It is actually a replacement tone for another ringtone that I had on my phone for several years!!!

 

 

I would NOT even consider nor presume to say that no one else could use it!!  It doesn’t belong to me!!!  But it is special to me!!!  It is special because I know that God gave it me!!!  And it encourages me, every time I hear it!!! 

 

 

I have had many songs on my phone over the years!!!  I even actually paid for a special ringtone at one point.  So, every time I got a new phone I had to reload it, so that I could use it!!! 

 

 

 

And one day while I was loading a bunch of songs onto a friend’s phone, I inadvertently loaded my special ringtone onto the phone along with the other songs.  I didn’t even realize it until a couple of days later when this person’s phone started ringing!!!  I looked around to see who was calling me, but my phone wasn’t ringing!!

 

 

And at first, I thought, if my phone isn’t ringing then how come I am hearing my ringtone playing!!!  Then it hit me like a tons of bricks!!!  This person’s phone was ringing because they had decided to use my ringtone!!! 





Yes!!!  I am saying that that particular ringtone was mine!!!  After ALL I had bought and paid for it!!!  I had been using it for years!!!!  And it was my fault that this person had it!!!  I had accidentally downloaded it onto their phone!!! 




When I remarked later that I had thought my phone was ringing, I was told that this person was using it for one of their relatives!!!  I was astonished and appalled that this person would knowingly use my ringtone!!!  In fact, I was NOT only astonished, I was horrified!!!!     

 

 

To be truthful, I was so shocked by the nonchalant way in which this person (this so called friend of mine) replied, that I was speechless!!!   THANK YOU, JESUS!!!

 

 

Quite frankly!!!  Although, I didn’t say anything to them, I WAS VERY UPSET!!!  I ACTUALLY FELT BETRAYED!!!  AND I MADE SURE THAT GOD KNEW HOW UPSET I WAS!!!!!    

 

 

I CRIED AND SCREAMED!!!!  AND I CRIED SOME MORE AND TOLD GOD TO MAKE THIS PERSON STOP USING MY RINGTONE!!!  BUT HE DIDN’T!!!

 

 

I even told a dear friend of mine about it and she told me that she understood how I felt, but that it sounded like I just needed to find another ringtone!!! 

 

 

Now, if you think that my friend telling me that I was going to have to get another ringtone, didn’t make steam come out my ears, you are so very wrong!!! 

 

 

I am sure that every one of you has seen in the cartoons where a person gets so mad that steam blows out of both of their ears!!  You know, the way that steam blows out of a steam whistle!!!

 

WELL, THAT IS HOW I FELT!!!  I can’t even tell you how mad I was or how much I cried over this!! 

 

 

AFTER ALL, I HAD A RIGHT TO BE UPSET!!! THAT RINGTONE WAS MINE!!!  IT WAS MINE!!!!  NO ONE ELSE HAD A RIGHT TO USE IT!!!  I HAD BOUGHT IT!!!

 

 

But truthfully folks, even if this person had bought that ringtone, instead of just using it (after I gave it to them), I would still have been mad!!!  Even if they had paid for it, I would still have been mad!!!  Because I felt like it was mine and I felt like this person had no right to use it!!!

 

 

 

My dear friend even tried to tell me that IMITATION WAS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY!!  But I can tell you that even that did NOT make me any happier!!!

 

 

After ALL, that ringtone was mine!!!  And if this person had had a special ringtone, I would NOT have dared to use it!!!  But that is me!!! 

 

 

And as that same dear friend of mine told me that other day, every one doesn’t do things the way I do things!!! Every one does NOT look at things the same way I look at things!!!  Every one doesn’t think the way I think!!!

 

You know, I am sure that the devil was real pleased to see me throwing a big ole fit over this!!!  I am sure that he wanted me to be upset and act out!!! 

 

But you see, even though I did throw a big ole fit, I took my problem to GOD and I didn’t get in my friend’s face!!!  So, even though I may have acted like a big ole baby over it, I did it mostly in private before the LORD!!!

 

 

I never treated that friend ugly!!!  I was nice and sweet to that person.  I prayed for them and their family!!!  I did everything I was supposed to do!!!  I am NOT even sure that this friend has any idea that I was ever upset!!!  And I know that pleases GOD!!!

 

 

God finally told me that there were a lot of other ringtones out there!!!  And HE reminded me that I had several on my phone that I really liked!!!  And I had NOT had to pay for them because they were songs. And HE told me that I would simply have to choose a different one!!!   

 

 

And God reminded me that HIS WORD said, “What the devil meant for evil (for my harm), God meant for good!!!”  This is what Joseph told his brothers in Genesis 50:20.

I assure you today that God has your back!!!

GOD WILL TAKE WHAT THE DEVIL MEANS TO DESTROY OR HURT YOU AND HE WILL USE IT FOR YOUR GOOD!!! 

When I was adding some new songs/ringtones to my collection, I saw BEAUTIFUL by Mercy Me.  I had never heard it before, so I played it!!

I knew immediately that Beautiful was going to be my new ringtone!!!  As I said in my other post, I fell in LOVE with it when I heard it!!!  This song is so beautiful!!!

So, I set it as MY NEW RINGTONE!!!  And I am amazed at how God uses it to minister to me and encourage me!!!

And do you know that a couple of months later, I was in church, and this preacher was talking about how the choir had been singing that other song.  He went on to say that they wouldn’t be singing it any more because THE LORD had showed his wife that that song did NOT line up with The WORD!!!

Isn’t that amazing!!!  So, again I say, THANK YOU LORD!!!  YOU ARE SO GOOD TO ME!!!  I AM SO BLESSED!!!

And last, but NOT least, I have to tell you about one last scripture-Roman 8:28 which is one of my most favorite scriptures!!!!!!       

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.