God Is Excited About You And Your Future!

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

We have all read or heard stories about those who have chosen to die for the glory of God and we think to ourselves “Wow! I wonder if I could stand even in the face of death”.

But what about “continuing on” in the face of tragedy or out-of-our-control circumstances?

What about trusting God in all things - even when they make not one bit of sense to us?

I believe it is easier to choose immediate death for the glory of God than to keep the faith in the wake of life’s turmoil. Remember Todd Beamer, the hero who helped over-through the hijackers during the 9/11 attacks?

Many have marveled at his wife Lisa, whose strength and ability to carry on after the tragic loss of her husband, was quite inspiring to say the least. Through it all she has adamantly given all the credit to God for her strength and peace. Several years ago - Lisa was interviewed by Larry King. During the interview she was asked several questions about her faith, about her church and about keeping her faith. He asked her if during the previous months she had ever doubted in God. Here is a little piece of this interview.

Lisa: My church is a Christian Missionary Alliance Church, but we just try to follow what the Bible says and try to find out how it applies to our lives every day in the 21st century. A lot of people think the Bible is irrelevant to our lives here now, but we found that by studying it and looking at the examples in it, especially the example of Jesus, we are able to determine how to live our lives through tough times and easy times and certainly no time is more relevant to me than now about how to do that. 

Larry: Did you not at all, Lisa, question your faith when this happened?

Lisa: I didn’t. I referred before to when my father passed away 17 years ago and I think as a 15-year-old I did question my faith at that time and say, “God, why would You let this happen?” You know, this isn’t in the plan that I had and I don’t think a God who loves you would have let this happen to me, but I spent quite a few years trying to think through that question and getting the right answer to it. And I think God led me to a place where I understand that just because I have faith in God doesn’t mean that He is going prevent every horrible thing from happening to me or take me away from the difficulties that this world brings to us, but that He is going to screen those difficulties and only allow those in that He wants to allow in and then through the difficulties certainly continue to show His love for me and the promise that I’m going to spend eternity with Him in heaven and that is the perspective that I was able to get after a few years of grappling with my father’s death and that perspective came to me obviously immediately on September 11 and has stuck like glue since then. So even looking back on the tragedy of my father’s death, there is a reason for that, even if it was for nothing else but to prepare me for September 11. It was certainly a valuable piece of my life that I know that God orchestrated in advance for me. So I look to this tragedy along the same lines and say, I don’t know what it means for the big picture of my life right now, but I do trust that God was in control that day and that He is taking care of me and loving me through this now.

How is it that some can survive incredible challenges with such energy, with such joy and with such confidence? Answer - Because they have come to a place of extreme confidence in their relationship with the living God!

They have come to understand that He has a plan and that He is well aware and acquainted with our sufferings…their confidence is in Him not in this temporal existence. God has a plan for each and every one of us! That’s His promise to us in Jeremiah. A “plan” is a method for accomplishing an objective. 

God’s objective is that you prosper - 1. to make steady progress 2. to succeed 3. to thrive 4. to increase 5. to become strong 6. to flourish

God wants you to live a life filled with hope - desire with expectation of fulfillment

Whatever the circumstance, God will not leave us hanging. He is always about the business of accomplishing His plan and it INCLUDES YOU!

He is excited about you and your future!

Wag