Ep. 127 | Mindsets (Part 9): God is Working All Things for my Good

May 26

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What if the frustrating or disappointing situation you're facing is actually working for your good?

In this episode, Rob Dayton unpacks one of the most powerful and practical mindsets of Jesus: God is working all things together for my good.

Life rarely unfolds the way we want. Delays, disappointment, difficult circumstances, and unanswered questions can quickly pull us toward frustration, fear, or negativity.

But Jesus offers another way.

Rob shares a personal story of travel delays that became an unexpected opportunity for peace, productivity, and joy. From there, he explores how mindset shapes everything we experience and why your brain is constantly reinforcing whatever you choose to focus on.

Using the science of the reticular activator and the truth of Romans 8:28, Rob explains how God designed the mind to work and why believing God's goodness changes how you see every situation.

This is not about pretending hard things are easy. It is about learning to recognize God's faithfulness and retraining your thinking to see opportunities for growth, peace, and purpose.

If you've been frustrated by circumstances, discouraged by setbacks, or struggling to trust God's direction, this episode will challenge and encourage you.

You’ll Hear

Why your circumstances do not have to control your peace
How mindset shapes what you notice, feel, and believe
What the reticular activator is and why it matters spiritually
The difference between focusing on the flesh versus the Spirit
How Romans 8:28 becomes practical in everyday life
Why two people can experience the same situation and see completely different outcomes
Rob's story of obedience in selling his dream home and what God revealed through it
Simple practices to rewire your thinking toward God's goodness and faithfulness

Journal Prompt

Papa God, show me a negative situation from my past in which you worked it out for my good.
Spend time in focused thankfulness, remembering ways God has already worked difficult circumstances together for your good.

Welcome to the 100X Life Podcast, where we activate people who desire to live the words of Jesus and experience the abundant life He promises. I'm your host, Rob Dayton, and I hope this podcast inspires you to put in the work of following Jesus. Hey, 100X Lifers. Welcome back to the podcast. We are on mindset number nine. God is working all things together for my good. These mindsets are so powerful, they can transform every aspect of your life and you can truly live the abundant life. Let me let me ask you a question. Do you love to be frustrated? Is that something you just can't wait to experience more of? Well, here's the news flash is you can't change your circumstances, but even in the bad circumstances, you can change how you view them. Last week I was flying from Dallas to T Newport Beach to have dinner with a bunch of TMP guys in the Newport class. I was so excited about it. So I had a flight that was very generous and allowed me the time. so we boarded the the plane a little late and then we sat on the plane for two hours. And then the captain said, okay, we're going to get off the plane. We're going to get everyone off the plane. And as soon as the last person was out, they started to reboard the plane. So then we reboarded the plane, and then we sat for another hour at the gate. Then we pulled away from the gate and and went to the runway and sat for a half an hour at the at the runway waiting for a takeoff. So Needless to say, I did not make that dinner in Newport Beach. I did not. And how was my state of mind? How were my feelings through this whole thing? Well, all these mindsets come into play. So first thing I told myself is, I'm not in control of this situation. I'm not in control of this circumstance. I have not even the pilot. It was a lightning storm. It's like not even the pilot's in control of this situation. Why would I even complain? Why don't I just use this situation for good? all things are working together for my good? This is good. I can surf this one. We can do this one. And and so I s I started to, I just got out my laptop and I started working feverishly. I got so much work done. I was focused. And then I started to do things make some funnies about the situation and Be lighthearted with people around me. pretty soon within two rows of my seat on both sides, people were laughing, they were having fun. I I never talked about disdain for the situation. I never entertained thoughts that, my gosh, woe is me. No, I just said this is gonna be fun, this is gonna be good. I can't control it, I'm just gonna do it. And I left Dallas when it when the plane finally took off with a lot of peace, with a lot of joy. Who does not want that? So, guys, take these mindsets really seriously because Jesus is proposing the abundant life, regardless of the circumstances. Okay, let's review where we've been. Week one, we talked about the mindset that we have to believe in the one God sent, which is Jesus. You have to believe. He is the son of God. That changes everything about how you listen to him, you read about him, how you follow him. You can't follow him if you don't believe he's he's the son of God. Week two, we talked about the mindset of living as one following Jesus. So the the thought that Jesus is taking somewhere. I I could tell you on that that trip from Dallas when the plane got delayed, I was thinking, well, what are we doing here, Jesus? What what And initially it was work for me to get done and was very gratifying. And then it was really lightning the and bringing joy to the people around me. I I felt like I was following him. week three, we talked about seeing the words of Jesus as our freedom. So not sacrifice, but a pathway to our freedom. In week four, we talked about the reality that you are the dwelling place of God and you dwell in him. I mean, isn't that cool? Let's go back again to that trip to Dallas. It's like the Spirit of God is living in me. Guess what? Peace, joy, love, kindness, self-control is all living in me. So wow, what a mindset to change the atmosphere. And then we week five, we focused on the reality that all people bear the image of God. Everyone around me on that plane was an image bearer. They're children of God. People that I can encourage, that I can look at them, you know, the American Airlines, I can look at them as image bearers and not have disdain that I was late. Week six, we focused on the mindset. I am a servant to all. How can I serve people in this moment, this difficult moment? And that became let's let's encourage them, let's change their mindset so that they can have a good time and not worry about the delay. Week seven, we were focused on the mindset of forgiveness, that unforgiveness, and this was my framing, unforgiveness is a cancer. And so I'm gonna really avoid unforgiveness. and then last week we talked about mindset seven: worry is faith in the enemy, that when we actually doubt or we have imaginations of the future that are negative, they're negative, that we're actually empowering the enemy. Who wants to do that? So, what's really cool about today's mindset, mindset number eight, it's the opposite of last week. So last week we were thinking, okay, don't do this. This week, the mindset is do this, which is God is working all things together for your good, for my good. You know, at its core, a mindset is how you think about anything. How you think about life, how you think about people. How you think about work, school, games, entertainment, love, fear, your mindset shapes your perspective of everything. Then you process through that mindset. You process how how to speak, how to take actions. Your emotions are welling up based on that mindset. So how you think determines how you see. Your brain has something in it called a reticular activator. I want to focus on that. With this mindset, what is the reticular activator? This is the portion of the brain that watches what your conscious mind is thinking about. And then the brain shows it to you. So remember, the mind is outside of the brain, and the mind is what we're focused on. It is where our imaginations are, it's where our conversation with God is. And then our focused conscious mind is programming and reprogramming our mind. Well, but well, God has factored in something called the reticular activator that that makes the brain show us what we're focused on. The best example of this one is the new car syndrome. You've probably experienced this again and again and again. you're looking for a car and you're starting to focus on the car, and then you see them everywhere. And my son Jed, who's going into contracting. Is dad, what's a good truck? And I'm like, you gotta look at the 2002 to 2007 Toyota Tundra. That is the best truck. So we started doing research. We started looking for them and and focusing on them. And then Nancy was like on the on the way back from a pickleball, we're outing with the kids where she's like, What what is a tundra anyway? And then I just said, Well, there's one. Okay, we want another block. Well, there's one, there's one, another couple of blocks, there's one, there's one. She's like, They're everywhere. They are, and they are because the brain was showing us and calling attention when a tundra passed by. We said we're fo we said in the conscious mind we're focused on tundras, the truck, and then the brain's like, okay, I'm gonna show you that thing. That's how the reticular activator works. So it's a God designed part of the brain, and that uses your mindset to show you. What you want to see. You can think everything's evil and it'll show you evil. You can think everything's good, it'll show you good. That's how the brain works, which is probably a big hint as to why these mindsets are so important to Jesus. That's how you think is so important to Jesus. You know, you can believe that you married the wrong person. Or you can believe that you married the one that is perfect for you. Both mindsets. actually could be the same marriage. In other words, both mindsets could be true. Both mindsets lead to thoughts, speech, and action that will either hurt or help the marriage. When I think about this, I think about Proverbs 23:7. and that says, For as a man thinks within himself, so he is. which is true about the examples of marriage? I married the wrong person or I married the perfect person. Well, both could be true. Maybe both. It doesn't matter which is true. What matters is how you think about your marriage. Your reticular activator will show you what you're looking for. If you believe you married the wrong person, your reticular activator highlights all the examples of why you're right about that. Where he or she fails. What's always wrong with them, and then well you'll manifest the feelings of doubt and regret. You will wallow in sadness and perhaps look to get a divorce. You might also think about all the other partners out there that would have been better. This kind of sounds like torture to me, particularly if you're gonna abide in the word to stay married to the same person. So we've got to change the way we think. If you believe your marriage is perfect for you, reticulate activator will show you all the reasons you're right about that. It will show you the reasons why they are the best. It will show you the opportunities to grow in that relationship. It will keep you focused on your partner that you're married to and not others. And then you'll manifest the feelings of hope and satisfaction and thankfulness and advancement. Remember. Both marriages, either could be true, but which mindset serves you best is the question. Which mindset is gonna serve your spouse best? Which mindset supports the abundant life? Which mindset's gonna help you follow Jesus the best? I mean, I think it's pretty clear it's the latter, but that was a choice. your imaginations about the future, whether they're good or whether they're bad, they are both. Make believe your future has not happened yet. So choosing mindsets that serve a better future is not just about being optimistic, it's about being wise. Be wise like Jesus. Choose a Jesus mindset. This is why today's Jesus mindset is so powerful for our future. It comes from Romans 8:28, and Paul tells us, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who God. To those who are called according to his purpose. So, for you: Do you love Are you called according to his purpose? I'm pretty sure everyone's going, yes, check, yes, check. Then all things are working together for your good. Do you believe this? Do you want the mindset of this? And the and the other thought is: if it's not good yet, he's not done yet. This is so powerful that Paul gives us in Romans 8 about this. It on the heels of another argument for following the spirit versus our flesh. This is from Romans 8:5. for those who are according to the flesh, set their minds, there it is, mindset, set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who are according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. So God is working all things together for your good. That's a spirit. Oriented mindset is Paul's point. And it completely changes how you think and see. if this is your dominant mindset, then your reticular activator will show you all the reasons why God is working things together for your good. It will show you the opportunities to take advantage of God's goodness in every situation. Then your emotions will follow and you can feel good even in the worst situations. one of the examples. I've got so many examples of this in my life, but the one of the most recent is last year when God sell Santa Barbara, sell our dream home that we spent 17 years building, perfect with ocean view, hacienda, amazing place to live. Nancy's Nancy's dream pool, which is kind of a resort, Mexican resort pool. Like this place is insane. People would come over and say, You're not working for the city of Santa Barbara, you're actually Do you're a drug dealer, you must be to live in a house like this. Well, we we built it ourselves. And then I felt like God really said, like, we you need to sell this. the reason is my heart was too attached to it. And I was, it was actually holding me back from an eternal mindset, which is next week's mindset. So I talked to Nancy. Nancy was all in. We went to work, we sold it. It was very difficult to sell because my heart did not want to do it. And now looking back. Back now that we're in Bend, and all the things God has done this year through that. you know, what was obedience? Man, a difficult situation. God has worked all things together for our good. We are so happy, so at peace. We have a heavenly mindset that we would have never had had we not been obedient and taken that that thing. That house, which had something rooted on earth that had become rooted in our hearts. So we benefited huge. Yes, it was a difficult circumstance. I complained the whole way. I was like, I not complained. I resisted the whole entire way. And the thing is that Jesus is the ultimate picture of wisdom. He lives with an eternal kingdom mindset always, where love wins and death does not prevail. he had to carry this mindset based on the word Father God spoke over him, which is you are my son in whom I'm well pleased. Can you imagine that? As a human being told that you are a son from heaven, because he was all man. He he was God, of course, because he came from God and he was truly the son, but he had to think like a man first. Jesus had a man brain. that tried to work against him. I'm sure his flesh, just like anyone else, he had to endure trials, tribulations, doubts, and he had to cultivate this mindset that he was the son of God. He had to likely rewire his brain to align with the mindset that he was, in fact, the son of God. So, like Jesus, you can make the circumstances you experience An opportunity for advancement. But without the right mindset, you will not see it. Your reticular activator will not show you. So, how do you hardwire God is working all things together for my good into your brain? Well, as with any mindset, this needs to be your mind's focus. So your reticular activator will not show you the goodness until this mindset becomes your dominant focus. How do I make it my dominant focus? And these are, this is much repeat. This these are ways that we put mindsets into practice. First thing is we meditate on the mindset. We've got to think about it constantly, all week long. You've got this, you know, it's Tuesday release of the podcast. You have all week, you have seven days to focus on this. Focus when you go to sleep. Focus on it when you're waking up. Focus on it through the out the day. And practice thankfulness to God that He has given you this truth, that He is causing all things to work together for your good. practice thankfulness. Like keep thanking God about it. Cultivate awe in God that He's been so good to make this truth. journal about this, His way of life is making all things together for good. Just journal about that. It's great. Stand in awe. Of the goodness of God in your life and then speak actively. So actively speak with others about how God is working all things together for good. what I might say to Nancy is, Can you believe this? God has worked the situation in Santa Barbara for our good. my gosh, Nancy, aren't we so blessed? We are so blessed. And at first, this might look like spin. I got I gotta be frank with you. It might look like spin. In other words, You're speaking actively to others about a thing and saying, Well, God's just working all things together for good. You might not have the brain emotions and feelings that go with it. And it might feel like you're speaking an untruth, you're spinning the truth. And and that's that's okay. Remember, you must first be conscientiously focused on the mindset. Before your brain can be reprogrammed to automatically and naturally and consistently think this way. you're skeptical about this strategy, think about your past. Take one bad thing that happened to you in the in the distant past and ask yourself, how did God benefit you with that bad thing? And again and again, you will see that this mindset is absolute truth. If God is going to work all things together for your good in the future, like he already has in your past, you can spin the story of your poor current situation, knowing that in the end, your spin will become true. That's how God's truth works. So you're not really spinning, you're actually believing in God's truth when you speak actively that that's what's going to happen. One key element of this mindset is that when you believe it fully, you can start to think God is allowing bad things to actually happen for your growth. Okay, we want to avoid this. This is not the case. God is not allowing bad things to happen to you. God is allowing love to exist. That's what he allowed. Love to exist. And for love to exist, we must have the choice not to love. This is how the world got into its fallen state. Our bad choices. Are likely the reasons for a bad situation. It's not God attributed. You can attribute to the enemy. You could I I would most likely just say my bad choice or someone else's bad choice, because the enemy has no authority according to Jesus. he r rises from the dead, he says, All authority on heaven's been given to me, which means the enemy has none. So I wouldn't even celebrate the enemy. I would just say, hey, some bad choices. went into this, my bad choices, probably, someone else's bad choices, and that's why this bad situation. And then God is gonna work all things together for my good in this situation. Okay, I hope that's helpful to you. Here's a journal prompt for today's mindset. Papa God, show me a negative situation from my past in which you worked it out for my good. Wow, that's gonna be a good time in your journal. You could actually start listing these and go through. As many of the worst circumstances, they have to be pretty far in the past for you to see the completeness. Like the the worse the circumstance, usually the further in the past you need to see it in order for you to see the good that God created. But journal from Papa God in the first person, and then next, do a focused, thankful prayer. Okay, you're gonna be focused, thankful prayer, remembering all the things. That God worked all things together for good, you're gonna you're gonna be practice thankfulness. So, you know, just get in your journal and just let thankfulness flow. Open up the spigot of fl thankfulness. It takes some time sometimes. You're thinking about your past, you're thinking about these bad circumstances. Open up the spigot and flow of thankfulness that God worked all things together in your past and then meditate on Him doing doing it again. Remember, your focus on this mindset will trigger. Your reticular activator. Every time it shows you that God is in fact working all things together for good, take advantage of it. Praise God. Celebrate the truth. Say, my gosh, I can't believe God, you've made it so good for me that you actually have given the power and authority from the heavenlies that all things are going to work together for my good always. I hope that you can embrace this mindset and believe it. I'm so excited. I ask that God would bless you in it, that Holy Spirit would give you supernatural power to believe it and to exercise it. It takes a lot of exercise to work these mindsets into our brains, to rewire our brains, give it time. At first, it will seem like it's not happening, and then all of a sudden you'll you'll be months from now and you'll go, wow, I'm actually living this mindset almost automatically. That's how God has has designed the mind and the brain to work together. Love you guys. Have a great week focusing on this mindset, and we will see you next week.