How can we not praise our God who desires so much for us? For the bible says in 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.” When you really think about it, all he has done is for us! God created this world with its perfect balance of H2O, for example. Knowing the combustion capabilities of these two chemicals and how everything has this perfect balance of the two in the general makeup without exploding, I found no less of a miracle!
He not only gave us the necessity of food and water, but he also gave us beauty all around us. No painter can paint any of it as well as God! As a painter, I stand in awe! How could men choose to follow something other than God! Yet at one time or another, we all have? Just like Eve, when the serpent beguiled her into that detrimental decision.
Ta Da! Our God comes on the scene, makes sacrifices to make our lives better! Not just any old sacrifice, he gave the ultimate sacrifice! He gave up his life for our relationship to be open and free. He believes in us and has such high hopes for us!
Okay, if you are a parent, you can sometimes feel the Lord’s frustration with us. You made all the sacrifices, and you have such high hopes for your children, yet they do not want to listen to you. We tend to take the same stance with our heavenly Father, who created us and knows us better than we know ourselves. I recently heard Joyce Myers say that we are going to make mistakes as we try to follow Jesus; we are learning to hear his voice, and with each mistake we gain knowledge! Mistakes are understandable, but rebellion is another story.
If we cannot walk in faith by what we have already seen God do in or around us! Our loving Father does not give up! For example, the children of Israel had journeyed many miles to cross to the promised land, yet despite all the miracles, they could not find the faith to possess the Land. They grumbled in fear. God let them journey for forty more years because of their grumbling. I have always strived not to walk in grumbling and complaining because of this bible story. Today I learned something reading the first three chapters of Deuteronomy. They may have been walking, but they were not wandering. They were on a God-ordained path of building faith. First, they walked through three lands previously occupied by giants, and the people God ordained had defeated them and taken their inheritance of the Lord. I wonder what stories they heard while buying provisions. Then, in chapter three, there were battles to be fought and won. He was building their faith every step of the forty years, circling back to the promise.
If you are standing on the bank of your promise, or you are on your faith journey to the promised land. Do not be afraid! Know God’s Plans are always good (Jeremiah 29:11)! Arise and take your journey, singing along the way. For the Lord, our God, goes with us (Deuteronomy 31:16)!! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Be all that you can be in Jesus’ name!
Written for the glory of God by Angela Dollar
Keywords: Overcoming, faith, not giving up