A few days before Jesus was crucified, He was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying late one night. He was so overwhelmed with the weight of what He was about to do and under so much pressure that His sweat was like blood dropping to the ground. He said, "Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). We celebrate what Christ did on the cross, which is the foundation of our faith, but the real battle took place in the Garden. That's where He made the decision, "Even though this isn't fair, even though Judas is about to betray me, even though these people have no right to mock and ridicule Me and condemn Me to die on the cross, Father, I trust You. I know this is all a part of Your plan."
There are times when life is not fair, when people have come against us, when we're fighting an illness, when the business fails—that's when you have to do what Jesus did and say, "Father, this doesn't make sense to me, but I trust You. I know You're in control, and You wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't going to work for my good." Don't get discouraged when you don't understand it. God is up to something.
The Scripture says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Psalm 37:23). It doesn't say He suggested them. No, God is strategic. Before you were formed in your mother's womb, He laid out a specific plan for you. Nothing happens randomly—not just the good breaks, the promotion, the times you see favor, but even the closed doors, the disappointments, and the betrayals are a part of God's plan. If you don't understand that, you'll be frustrated when things don't go your way, upset because somebody does you wrong, and bitter because the door closed. In reality, these were ordained by God as setups to move you up to a new level of your destiny.
They crucified Jesus and put Him in the grave. They thought He was done, but on the third day He came out and said, "I am alive forevermore!" God has the final say. He has you in the palms of His hands. You may not understand it, but He's already planned out your days. If you stay in faith, God is about to turn things to your advantage. It looks like a setback, but it's setting you up for breakthroughs, for promotion, for vindication, for healing, for the fullness of your destiny.