Tag Archive for: faith

God’s Will vs. Our Packaging

While grieving the loss of my daughter, I found myself going through a lot of emotions. One of them was the fact that I wanted God’s will and knew that there was an explanation for everything He allowed to occur but just did not know that it would turn out that way. Many times I would literally say “God I want your will but it just hurts because I thought it would be packaged differently.”

I know I’m not the only one that has felt this way at some point in life. Many times we are sure of the promises God has over our lives, however, we allow ourselves to plan which roadways and highways we think our lives will take before we reach that promise, but we honestly have no clue because God doesn’t sit there and plan with us. He knew us before we were formed, and knew how things would turn out for us. It is very normal to imagine the way things will work out, but it’s important to realize that God has planned something greater than what our small minds can imagine.

We may think that our futures will come with a pink or blue satin ribbon on top, but all the while, God had planned for a bow made with diamonds and gold. Wouldn’t you prefer that instead? I know I would, but instead of focusing on that moment, we lament and cry over tests and trials that are sure to catapult us to where God needs us to be in order to properly handle and care for that very special promise.

In the end, we’ll think back in awe of the “detours” we had to endure in order to get to His promise.

Get Out Of Your Own Way!

How many times do we tell God that we trust Him and the plan He has for our lives, but then proceed to go behind His back and TRY–keyword: TRY– to make things happen on our own? How does that always end? It NEVER works out in our favor!

I was reading Genesis today, as part of the “Read The Bible In A Year” plan that I’m doing. Abraham was favored by God and was given the promise that His descendants would be that of the stars in the sky–innumerable. Although God had promised this to Abram, He didn’t believe how that could possibly be because His wife, Sarai, had not yet conceived and they were both of old age. Sarai, then suggested that Abram sleep with one of her servants so that through the servant, she would be able to have a child.

Personally, I don’t know WHAT Sarai was thinking, and I don’t understand why Abram would even agree to such a thing. God told him that he would be the father of many nations, but did he not realize that if God would make such a promise, that He would provide the means for it to come to fruition? Don’t we all do the same thing to God? He gives us a promise, but when we don’t believe that it’s possible based on LIFE’S circumstances, we divert and try to make it happen on our own.

At the end of the day, Sarai’s servant’s child was just that–Sarai’s servant’s child. That child would have never been Sarai’s, so her solution only brought more problems because she went out of God’s will to try to achieve what God had already said He would provide. Sarai’s solution only brought more pain to herself, Abram, and Hagar (her servant).

A lack of faith and patience will cause us to heap unnecessary pain into our lives. Let’s learn to believe God when He says He will do something for us. Keep in mind that this is the same God that created our very bodies with the dust of the ground and yet managed to make intricate functions throughout our bodies. If you know anything about Anatomy and Physiology, you will understand that the human body is so complex, and it’s not anything a man could even come up with. So if our God could even think up the idea of creating synapses that allow our brain signals to reach the various parts of our body through the spinal cord, which part of your life do you think God can’t figure out?? He has ALL OF THE DETAILS WORKED OUT. It’s up to us to believe it and receive it in DUE time. God holds all the power in His hands and our circumstances cannot change what He has already planned for us.

So do me and yourself a favor and get out of your own way! God doesn’t need your help. He has already worked out all of the details.

Reference: Genesis 16, 17, 18:1-15