Month: May 2019

God has plans for YOU!

As I’m approaching my last two, 8-week classes to finish my bachelor’s degree, I’m anxious and excited all combined.  Excited to have some time back to put into other things, and anxious about finding a job that I can use my degree with.  I’ve applied and looked for jobs and yet nothing happens.  I’ve been praying about it, and thinking when it is going to happen, and a few days ago I felt God tell me, its not your time, be patient.  I was once again reminded of this when I saw something that said, “Gods got a plan for you”.  It hit me hard that day I read it.  I’m like everyone else I guess, we have heard that, told other people that, yet its sometimes hard to really believe or take in.  That day though when I read it, I knew in my heart that it was true! God does have a plan for each of us.  His plan is much greater and bigger than we could ever dream about. 

There are many scriptures that tell us about Gods plan for our lives.  Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”.  These are just a few of the promises of God in the Bible that tells us that God has a plan for us. 

Will we still be anxious at times and wonder why Gods plan doesn’t look like ours? Of course! I know that I’ll fall back into the sin of worry at times, but I’ll also be able to look back at that day that God showed me in my heart that he has a plan for me!  It can be the same for you! You can know that God has a plan just for you that he’s working out, and you can take the scriptures and read them and when you do become anxious or worry you can turn back to those scriptures and have a promise to hold onto!

Sweet smell of Praise.

                As I walked out of the daycare, from dropping my youngest son off, a few mornings ago, there was a strong smell that hit my nostrils.  It wasn’t repulsive by any means rather, it was sweet and soft to smell.  It brought my head to attention looking for where it was coming from.  My mind immediately thought, this is like the sweet smell that God has when we praise him.  The Bible tells us in Hebrews 13:15, “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”  In the end of verse 16 it tells us that praise is one of the sacrifices that please God.   We don’t really think of our praise being a sacrifice, because a sacrifice is something we must give up or surrender.  Lets think for a minute though. After I smelled that beautiful aroma, and the sun was shinning on my back, and my life was “good” at that moment. It was easy for me to praise God at that moment for all he has provided and given to me and my family.  But, when times are harder and there’s rain in the sky, and creditors are pushing in on every side, and sickness is racking the body of my child, is it as easy to praise him? NO! I must CHOOSE and surrender my personal human feelings at that moment and praise God.  I have personally been guilty of being able to sing his praises when the times are so easy and things look so good, but when things get harder it’s a conscious choice I must make, to look for things to praise Him for.

Today, no matter what place your in, your praises to God, whether in song or prayer, are a sweet smell to your savior.  What better way to please him then to give him praise today!  I choose to be a sweet smell rather than a repulsive smell of grumbling and complaining!

Adjust your grip.

You are on that last mile of a half marathon, 5K, full marathon, or even the first mile you have ran in a long time, and your lungs are burning, your legs feel like Jell-O and every cell in your body is crying for you to stop, to give up.  But, you mind refuses, you think of all you have trained for, what you have dreamed about, and so you push through. You overcome the weakness in your body and you strengthen you weak knees.  Maybe you’re hanging from that pull up bar trying to achieve your personal goal of accomplishing a specific amount of pull ups.  Your natural reaction would be to drop from the bar because your hands hurt, the blisters are forming and your arms are aching.  But, you adjust your grip and you hold on and push through to accomplish your goal.

If you in a place in your life that you feel like giving up.  It feels like all the pressures are closing in on you the bible gives us some instructions.  Hebrews 12:12-13 says to take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen you weak knees.  You may ask, why does it really matter if I give up?  It only affects me right.  The next verse tells us the reason why we need to keep pushing through.  It’s because we are cutting a new path for someone else’s to come along behind us to follow.  The scripture says it’s to forge a new path that those who may be weaker than us can follow behind us and they can have victory because we did not give up.  Those watching us and following us may feel weak but when they see us prevail they will become stronger in their life and faith. 

So when you finishing that last mile of the race, and you push through those last few pull ups, those coming behind you get excited and full of the energy that you have, and they push through their own struggles and are able to have victory along with you!