Many times, a single act of God may have several other benefits. After healing the mad man of Gadara, Jesus told him to go home and tell his friends what “great things” the Lord had done for him. On the surface, what we read is deliverance from a legion of demons. However, when we probe a little further, we see other blessings. Firstly, there was restoration of relationships. From the text, we can safely conclude that the man’s malady happened in the course of his adult life. He had friends before his misfortune. His condition scuttled those wonderful relationships. After the deliverance, he was reunited with his friends. Secondly, there was the restoration of dignity. He had had his clothes ripped off on several occasions in the past. After the deliverance, he was clothed and in his right senses. Finally, he was restored to purpose. He had the mandate to go and proclaim the acts of God to his world. He went to ten cities! That means while he was being held by demonic forces, the anointing of an evangelist was on him. That act of deliverance brought him to the reason for his being.

“What is required of us is to walk with absolute trust. We must become fully persuaded that God loves us infinitely more than we could ever love ourselves.”

Now, let’s consider the reverse of this. Every time God refuses to act in any particular way that we expect of Him, He may be saving us from several evils embedded in that one thing. What is required of us is to walk with absolute trust. We must become fully persuaded that God loves us infinitely more than we could ever love ourselves. What He permits or disallows are in our interest. Developing this frame of mind will keep us from unnecessary disappointment and bitterness when things do not go exactly the way we planned.