A Negative Turned into a Positive

Many times we don’t understand why God allows hurtful things to happen in our lives.  For a time, all we can see are the negative aspects of a situation.

Recently, I went through such a time.  I grieved for what I had lost.  Even though I had been unhappy for several months, I thought that my family belonged where we were.  I was fighting God “tooth and toenail” to stay right where I was.  I kept telling myself this was where I belonged.  I couldn’t see any other possibilities.

I finally let go and gave it all to God.  When I did, He opened another door.  When I stepped through it I knew that this was what God had been preparing for my family and me.

We become so single minded that we don’t think that the unfamiliar could be as good as or better than what we already know.  God always wants what is best for us.  We just have to step out in faith to receive His generous blessings 

Pam

Do They See Jesus in Me?

Recently a friend reminded me of something I lost sight of in light of recent heartaches that had come my way.

In the grand scheme of life, it does not matter how much money I have, or how big my house is, or what organizations I belong to.  What really matters is that I fulfill the purpose God has for me…to spread the Gospel and to teach others the things of God.

Are my hands and feet being used to do His work?  Does His light shine through me?  When people look at me do they see Jesus?  That is my heart’s desire!

This song is one of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiF3HE4cQ8

Pam

Adversity

“Adversity…usually takes us by surprise…To us it often appears completely senseless and irrational, but…God…has a purpose in every pain He brings or allows in our lives.  We can be sure that in some way He intends it for our profit and His glory.”

Quote by Jerry Bridges

Pam

Forgiveness

God forgives easily.  It is man who has trouble with it.  Many times we believe that we must pay penance before forgiveness is achieved.  We often pass judgment on whether or not God has forgiven someone else.  How arrogant can we be? 

Forgiveness is a personal matter, and we should not presume to know anything about the relationship between God and another person.  Yes, by their fruits ye shall know them, but that is talking about whether or not a person is saved. 

You cannot assume that if a person goes to church they are right with God.  Neither can you assume that if a person does not go to church that they are not right with God.  It is the same with forgiveness.  You cannot assume to know whether a person is forgiven or not.  God thinks on a different level than we do.  He has the capability of forgiving anyone anything.  Forgiveness shows in the heart, not always on the surface.

Often people think that if they can’t see that someone has been forgiven, then it must not have happened.  That is making assumptions according to man not God.  That leads people to judge, and judging should be left to the ultimate judge, our heavenly Father.  Let’s leave the things of God to God Himself, and worry about our own relationship with Him.

It is my desire to one day hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant,” and it will have nothing to do with anyone or anything else except my personal relationship with God.

Pam

Paving the Way for Peace and Healing

I have had a really rough week, but God in His infinite wisdom was paving the way for peace and healing.  All of my daily Bible reading this week has been reminding me that God knows all that is ahead for me, good and bad.  He has been preparing me, little by little, for the hard things in life.  He didn’t let it be dumped on me all at once where the load would be too heavy.  He knew I couldn’t handle that, so He stretched me a little at a time until I was able to bear what was in store.  Thank you Lord for strengthening me.  May I be more like You day by day.

Pam

God's Plan for Me

God knows our highs and our lows.  He is there for us all the way.  We never have to walk the road alone, but sometimes that is what we choose.  We think we can handle things on our own.  How wrong we are!  God makes everything much easier.  He knows what is ahead.  Even when we don’t understand why things happen the way they do, God knows and is in control. 

I don’t need to know what lies ahead.  All I need to be concerned with is what God wants me to do at this very moment.  The way that I react to situations shows what kind of child of God that I am.  Am I faithful?  Do others see His light in my life? 

I know at times I fail God.  It breaks my heart when I do, but I have to pick myself up, dust myself off, and move forward.  I have to strive day by day to walk the path He has chosen for me.  He wants me to have peace.  Dear Lord let it be!

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”                       

Jeremiah 29:11   

Pam

Being Molded

I Peter 5:10 - “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

     We are not born perfect.  We will not obtain perfection as long as we live on this Earth, but we are to strive to do better day by day.

     A lump of clay does not begin in the form of a bowl.  It has to be carefully shaped by the potter to become the object it was meant to be.  If a lump of clay were alive it would tell us that being shaped hurts.  It gets kneaded, rolled and squeezed until it becomes a bowl or a vase or whatever the potter designed it to be.

     In our lives God has to mold us into what He designed us to be, and that sometimes hurts.  None of us likes to go through tough times, but often that is exactly what we need to make us into the person God wants us to be.

     Sometimes we can’t be as effective for the Lord as we should be until we have learned to be more like Christ.  If we keep going through the same trials, then maybe we haven’t learned the lesson that God wants us to learn.  I know that has happened to me.

     I have always heard that we should look for the silver lining in every situation, and that is true.  Sometimes it is hard to find, but we must continue to look.  You just might find the rainbow that God has in store for you behind that next cloud.

Pam