I've moved around in my life quite a lot. I grew up in the farmlands of Central Iowa, but after the passing of my father, my mom and I moved away from here and to the northwest corner of the Ozarks. I bid goodbye to the cold, harsh winters of Iowa and welcomed with open arms the warmer climates of the South. My mom and I traveled so much together that you could almost say it's in my blood. As an adult, I love taking new adventures and seeing all parts of the countryside whenever I have the time to.
Did you know that God pre-determined your life? It's true. He knew when and where you'd be born, and what people you'd refer to as family. When you think about that, WOW! "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as my prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5. So just think, you are when and where you are...on purpose. Can you wrap your head around that? I know. It's a little hard to do. I find it rather cool that my Heavenly Father knew exactly when I would come into this earth and live during this time! I would be lying if I didn't admit to being a little disappointed - I would have loved to be a Laura Ingalls Wilder, living life on the prairie! Bummer! I think I would have made a pretty awesome pioneer woman. Although, the cold winters; I moved away from Iowa to get away from those. I'm not so sure about being without electric heat - I'm spoiled!
But back to God. He has an amazing plan for our lives. And something else - He is not the least surprised with what happens in our lives last year, this year or the next; although, I'm sure some of you out there would be stumped with what did or will happen. But not God! Nope! He knows our whole life timeline. In fact, if you had told me in my late twenties, that I would end back up in Iowa, I would've told you how crazy you are! Because I vowed I would never move back. But low and behold, here I am. Back to those cold winters. Sigh. See, God had other plans for my life. One's that I still don't know about. He has these for you too! And I guess I'll be stuck wearing sweatpants & hoodies all winter long, until He either moves me to the beach, or I go to join him in eternity.
See, where you are right now is right where God has planned. "Perhaps this is the Moment for which you were Created." - Esther 4:14. You were born for this time - and God knew it! Isn't that miraculous!? You can find comfort, knowing that God put you here. I mean, maybe we don't know why, but He does, and that's all that should matter. And all those surprises that come our way? God's not surprised because He planned them just that way!
Take a moment to examine your life. Now look at "the good, the bad and the ugly" side of things. Oftentimes people see God when everything is going right for them; but when a bad streak comes our way, why is it we blame God? My daughter asked this question very recently, "Why does God allow bad things to happen to His children? Doesn't He care?" Now, I'm not God, but based off the verse in my picture God's purpose for us was to "seek after Him and perhaps feel their way towards him and find him - though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live, move and exist." - Acts 17:26-28.
When we face heartache in our lives, it is so much easier to play the blame-game and in turn, blame God. Now, I'll tell you who thrives for this; the enemy. Have you ever thought what the outcome of this negative point would be like if we dove deep in and reached out for God instead of pushing him away? What would the end result be then? It's God's hope that we would reach out to him and allow him to bring us peace in times of trouble. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." - Psalm 34:18 NLT. If we allow God to control the in's & out's of our lives, he can turn our mess into a beautiful message for others who are struggling. What a testimony!!
We can trust God through any storm or trial. He's there no matter what we face - good or bad. And find joy in that; yeah, it can be harder than it sounds. It can sometimes be difficult to be joyful about something that seems so bad at the time. "Dear friends, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. When your faith is tested, your endurance grows. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." - James 1:1-4. See - God uses everything that comes our way to help us become and grow into the person he knows we will become.
After all, it's God who carries us through life and through the storms. He calmed the storm for Peter; what makes you think He can't stop that tornado in your life? In the popular poem "Footprints in the Sand" written by Margaret Fishback Powers, she explains this so delicately. It was a poem my Granny had hung in her house and I now have a copy in my own home. (An excerpt) "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me. He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." And that's it. God loves us and will NEVER leave our side.
Remember your life timeline? God's at the end to greet you and congratulate you. He supplies everything we need to make it to the end. He is never far from us. For it only in Him that we can live and love a full life. Be blessed to know you're right where you're supposed to be. Find joy in that. Be blessed.
0 Comments