WRONG.
For the past year and a half, that had been my mindset. No matter what we do, we CAN NOT control what life holds, just gotta roll with the punches and move with the rhythm of the music. Its easy to fall in that rut, but when we do, that leaves no room for faith and hope. A few weeks back, Thi'sl posted something intriguing on Facebook, which got me thinking... He stated, "You can change your past by the way you choose to live today. 10 years from now what you do today, will be your past. Live with that in mind".
Now think about that for a minute. If we CHANGE the way we live today, years from now we will have CHANGED OUR FUTURE. Whether that be in your relationships, your diet, or even your spending. Sometimes, those things can be hard to change, especially if that is all we have ever known, but that's where God comes in.
Yup. GOD.
A friend recently pointed out to me that according to them, no matter what we want or desire, Gods plan will prevail against all odds. For a second, that statement sounds pretty solid. I mean, God does hold the key to our lives right? He did create us, He does have a PLAN for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11-13), He KNEW US in our mothers wombs (Jeremiah 1:5), but does that mean that NO MATTER WHAT His plan will prevail? I don't think it does.
First, I want you to think about every unborn baby that has been killed. Every life that is taken by starvation. Every murder. Every deadly disease or sickness. Now can you tell me THAT was Gods plan for those lives? You can't, because what good, perfect, and loving God would CAUSE such things to happen? He wouldn't. He doesn't. And He won't. Romans 8:28 talks about how even when we have bad things happen to us in life, God can USE that for some good purpose. In the very beginning of time, God created this world PERFECT. He didn't want any suffering, or any impurity. Genesis 1:31 says, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Adam and Eve walked, on a daily basis, in a perfect world. I envy those two! But then, of course, Satan decided all that perfection shouldn't last. So with just a little sin, Gods perfect world was changed to all of its imperfectness. That is the first example ever stated in the Bible that Gods plan doesn't always prevail. Its in the VERY FIRST CHAPTER of the Bible.
Now, some of you thinkers out there might start wondering, "Well, if Gods plan doesn't always work out for our lives, does that mean WE are "controlling God", by controlling our lives?" GOOD QUESTION!
Lets look at James 4:13-17, "Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."
First, let me just say something. God wants us to decide. He gives us opportunities ever single day where we can make the wrong, or the right decisions. If we didn't have that option to decide, we would be like robots, there would be no point in our existence. We choose to follow the Lord. We choose to serve Him. Yes, He wants us all to be adopted into the Lords family, but He wants that to be OUR decision. How meaningful is a relationship, if YOU are the one forcing it? Its not at all. We love, because he FIRST loved us.
So here is what I'm getting at. YES, God has control over our lives, BUT we have to make the right decisions in our life to "fit" our life in His perfect plan. Its kind of like the story of the man stranded on top of his house in the middle of a giant flood. He believed that God had control, and was going to take care of him, yet he chose to make the wrong decisions. A life boat came to rescue him, yet he rejected it stating, "The Lord will take care of me!". Then, a helicopter came to save him, yet once again he stated, "The Lord will take care of me!". God gave him two opportunities to be rescued, yet he was naive, and rejected them both.
He made the wrong decisions.
So next time you have something to decide, whether it be small or big, make sure its the right one. If you truly seek the Lords guidance, He wont let you down. I always say, if God shuts a door somewhere, He has a gate wide open somewhere else. He wont take away something, or say no without having something so much greater waiting for you ahead.
So trudge forward with a smile!
Jeremiah 29:11 "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 hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11 "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 hope and a future."
