Tuesday, March 26, 2013

God knows the plans He has for me

                             
 
" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD."
" 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you."
" 'Plans to give you a hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
 
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."
"Before you were born I set you apart." ~Jeremiah 1:5
"In his heart a man plans his course."
"But the LORD determines his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9
 
*Sigh*. Those are such wonderful promises. God knows the plans He has for me.
He has set me apart.
And while I may make plans for myself, He determines where I'm going to step.
Hmm.
He knew what kind of family I needed.
  He knew that I would need two older brothers in my life.
He knew what friends I would need.
What churches I needed to be in.
What youthgroup I would need to be a part of.
  He knew that I needed to be homeschooled.
That I wouldn't graduate when I thought I would.
 
Oh goodness.  He knew.
And yet, even though many things have not gone how I wanted them to.
Or that certain things haven't happened at all or might not happen for a time.
He didn't plan it that way to harm me, to make my life miserable.
In fact, He planned it that way for the oppisite reason.
For my good.
For His glory.
He knew what I needed when I needed it, even when I didn't.
He knew.
And even now He's writing my story.
 
I'm looking forward to what He has planned for me.
I know, even though there may be days of frustration, pain that there will also be days of joy.
And whatever He does have planned, it's going to be good.
It's going to be an adventure.
I really can't wait.
And yet,
I need to be patient. I need to wait on His timing.
He's never late or early.
He's always right on time.
 
Hmm.
I just have to wait.
"Wait on the Lord."
 
It may be hard,
but it will be worth it in the end.
I just have to trust.
"Trust in the Lord will all your heart."
 
Simply trust and wait.
 
 

Friday, March 22, 2013

Life is beautiful

"Every life is beautiful."

Those words of truth were pounding into my head as I watched the movie, and afterwards as I listened to the testimonies.

A woman speaking to me, the audience, as she told her story of how she survived an abortion. And how since then she has lived with Cerebral Palsy.

There were so many things she could complain about. So many things she could get mad at God for.
And maybe at one point in her life she had.

But she was positive. Determined. Joyful. Content.

She was beautiful.

I watched another testimony, and finally I lost all control over my emotions.

Tears streamed down my face, but I smiled. God was telling me something.

"My daughter, your life is beautiful."  And I knew (even though He tells me that I'm beautiful on the outside) that in this case He meant on the inside. "I put you on this earth for a reason. I did not put you on this earth for you to live for yourself or to waste your life. I put you on this earth for my purpose." I wiped my eyes and let the truth sink in.

My life is beautiful.

Those days of depression, when I'm letting satan's lies bombard me, when I feel like giving up.
I can choose to live differently. I can choose to believe the truth, to act on the truth. To believe that God put me on this earth for a reason. He wants me to live my life for Him and to glorify Him.
He doesn't want me to waste my life because I think I'm not good enough, that I don't have anything to offer. Because I do. Before I was even born He had my story written out. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. " ~Jeremiah 1:5.

And when I get depressed, when I feel like giving up because I've let myself believe satan's lies, I break His heart. I don't want to do that.

I am His.

He knows what's going to happen in my life tomorrow, the day after and a year from now.
He has plans for me. My life is His.

So today I am choosing to believe the truth, to act on the truth, to live out the truth.
My life is beautiful. And you know what? So is yours.

Choose life.Because life is a gift.  Because life is beautiful.

       On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand,
                                       Josie