Hello Friends! It’s been a few days since my last post. I was enjoying a week at Lake Michigan with my family, and it was definitely wonderful. A much needed chance to relax and unwind. Granted there isn’t Internet there, so I haven’t been able to post. But now I am back and ready to share more of what is on my heart with you allJHere are a few pics from the beach…
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| Pig. Enjoying the beach….he LOVES the beach. |
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| The water was SO warm! It was almost like bath water warm. |
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| My FAVORITE place in the entire world. |
Anyways, this morning I was reading again in Psalms and there were a few verses that stuck out to me. James and I have been praying a lot lately about what God has for us in this coming year. We have had many trials over the past few months, and have been diligently seeking God’s face concerning the next step in his plan for our lives. As I was about to read, I asked God to show me something. Something that would give me peace about his perfect plan and purpose in our lives. Here are a few verses that stuck out to me…
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”
Psalms 118:8
“Turn my heart towards your statutes and not towards selfish gain.”
Psalms 119:36
And it hit me.
I think I want to do what God wants me to do, and I think I want to follow his plan for my life, but deep down I am selfish. Yes, I am. You see, I don’t really want to do whatever God has for me, only if it matches up with what I personally want. I haven’t put my total and complete faith and trust in him like I should be doing. I’m sorta like half way there. I say I have faith in him and that I trust his plan, but do I? Do I really? It’s not easy to completely let go of our own plans and desires. Not at all. But it is totally necessary. If we truly desire to be used by God in big in powerful ways, then we need to let go and let God be in control of our lives. Only then can we truly be used by him.
I struggle with this. I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m kind of a control freak, and I like to know exactly what I am going to be doing all the time. I like structure and I like to plan. It’s just in my nature. All the more reason for me to let it go. If I want to get anywhere of importance in life, I need to let God in and let him lead. Author and pastor Francis Chan recently said, “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things that don’t really matter.” How interesting…yet how true. I can be overwhelmingly successful at something, but if it doesn’t really matter in the bigger picture of God’s plan for my life, then it is worse than failing altogether.
My prayer is that I become successful in the things God has planned for me, regardless of what those things may be. Even if it’s not my number one choice, I want to do what God has planned for me. I have a unique purpose, as do all of you, and I plan on fulfilling that purpose no matter where it may take me.
What about you? Is there something that you feel God calling you to do? Or maybe you are doing something that you don’t feel God has planned for your life. Whatever it may be, don’t wait. Ask God to carry out his unique and special plan in your life today. What are you waiting for?