Trust God and His Bigger, Better Plan

[Trust God and His Bigger, Better Plan]( Current Teaching Series [The Habits of Happiness]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Trust God and His Bigger, Better Plan]( By Rick Warren — 06/05/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.” Philippians 1:12 (NLT) If you want to be a happy person, you need to look at every problem from God’s perspective. Happy people have a larger perspective. They see the big picture. When you don’t see things from God’s point of view, you get discouraged, frustrated, and unhappy. No matter what’s going on in your life—the good, the bad, and the ugly—God is working out a plan. Paul knew this. He says in Philippians 1:12, “I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News” (NLT). Ever since Paul became a Christian on the road to Damascus, he had one great dream: He wanted to preach in Rome, the center of the universe at the time. His dream was to preach the Gospel in the most important city in the world. But God had another idea. Instead of sending Paul to Rome to preach crusades, God makes him a royal prisoner of Nero, who is Caesar at that time. And, Nero is a wicked and corrupt leader. As a royal prisoner, Paul is chained to a royal guard 24 hours a day for two years, and the guard is changed every four hours. Over two years in prison, Paul has the opportunity to witness to thousands of guards. Who’s the real prisoner here? Who has the captive audience? This isn’t Paul’s plan, but it was God’s plan all along, and it produces amazing effects. There are two results that we know for sure. First, Philippians 4 says that within two years of Paul’s imprisonment, some of Nero’s own household had become believers because of Paul’s witness in the royal court in Rome. Second, it’s kind of hard to get a guy like Paul to stop moving. In prison, he is forced to be still, and, as a result, he writes most of the New Testament. I wonder which had a bigger impact: his preaching in the Colosseum or the books he wrote, including Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. These seven books have revealed Jesus to millions of people over the years. Paul knows that God has a bigger plan, and he can be happy because he trusts what God is doing through his problems. Any time you have a problem that’s starting to get you down, you need to do what Paul did: Learn to see it from God’s point of view. Ask, “What is God doing here? What’s the bigger picture? What’s the bigger perspective?” Then, you’ll be able to face the problem in faith. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Think of a problem that has you discouraged right now. How does your discouragement change when you look at it with God’s bigger perspective? - Why do you think God is allowing you to struggle through a hard time? - How have you seen God work in the midst of a difficult situation in your past? The post [Trust God and His Bigger, Better Plan]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get The Habits of Happiness Bible Study when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Real, lasting happiness can only be found by following God’s commands. That’s why Pastor Rick created The Habits of Happiness Bible study to show you how happiness that’s grounded in God’s unconditional love runs deeper than any difficult circumstance, feeling, or relationship you experience. This interactive, full color, hardcover book is filled with Scripture, biblical truths, practical lessons, application exercises, and prayers to guide your journey. It’s a comprehensive study tool that will help you develop biblical habits that lead to true and lasting happiness. And thanks to a $50,000 Matching Grant, your gift today will be DOUBLED to reach even more people with the certain hope of Christ! [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 8 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series The Habits of Happiness. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Grow Healthy Relationships Message 2: How to Be Happy No Matter What Message 3: The Humble Path to Happiness Message 4: How to Keep Your Heart Happy Message 5: Happiness Can Be Learned Message 6: Five Daily Habits for Happiness Message 7: How to Keep from Stressing Out Message 8: God's Promise to the Generous [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2022 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States