Daring to trust God’s Sovereignty

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Gone must be any discouragement that would cause us to forget God’s sovereignty over human affairs.

Instead, can we grasp the fact that other people simply cannot thwart God’s plan for our lives?
If He has called us to something, not only will He equip us, we can be sure that He will also provide the entry point needed for us to carry it out. If we are following His calling and lead, we need to learn to hear His quiet, “not now” within mere man’s louder, “No!”.

One of the things that must have spurred Joseph on while unfairly imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, was the vision God had granted him many years earlier, that remained yet unfulfilled.

While he grew in his trust of a faithful God, who made sure that the normal punishment (death) for Joseph’s “crime” (of which he was innocent and therefore unfairly imprisoned) was not enacted, he must also have grown in his certainty that God would provide the way out, in His own flawless timing. And the way OUT of prison, was the way IN to a position of prominence – just as God had foretold… because God is the Master orchestrator.

We too, though not relying on visions or prophetic utterances, can have the same certainty, and trust that God, who is eternally faithful, omnipotent and sovereign, will also work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to HIS purpose. (Romans 8:28)

2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us that, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” The question then is: is my heart fully committed to Him? Are God’s priorities my priorities? Do I have a heart eager to be used by Him, for His glory, and to let my life be a light by which this dark world can’t help but notice? We must be vigilant in keeping an Eternal perspective, and not let ourselves get wearied by this world’s woes, nor let the weakness of our flesh tempt us toward failing and falling away from God. On our own we are all failures and frauds – but WITH Christ? We can do ALL things through His power at work in us. The key is staying fully committed and obedient to Christ, putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and fleeing the temptations of this world.

God has certain jobs for us to do, and He is more than able to set aside anyone else’s denial of the gifts and abilities that He has assigned each of us for His own purposes and pleasure, and to work His good where it looks “impossible.” In fact, I believe He enjoys showing evidence of His inescapable omnipotence and sovereignty in the face of seemingly impenetrable obstacles on behalf of those who love Him.

So even in the greatest of trials let us not be tempted to diminish His love for us, or His sovereignty over all situations, but instead let’s pray that He helps us fully surrender to His desire to use all that He allows in our lives as vehicles to display His power, grace, sufficiency and love.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

The next time we are tempted to feel discouraged from a lack of impact or use of a spiritual gift that God has afforded us, let’s remember just Who is in control.

And keep in mind: the best posture from which to watch God move mountains is on our knees, as we ask Him to.

He is waiting for us to come to the realization that He delights in our trust of Him! So let’s hasten to deepen our trust in the fertile ground of His faithfulness, so that He can display His work in our lives all the more as we step out in obedience. Let’s begin praying for marvelous things in the Only Mighty Name – that of Jesus- then stand back! And watch the hand of our loving Lord carry out what only He can! 🙌🏼🌿

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Angels Among Us…

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There is a news organization whose tag line is: we report, you decide.  That’s how I feel about this amazing situation; I will share with you what happened, you make up your own mind…I’ve already made up mine.

Our girls were traveling home for Thanksgiving break. Their flight was tracking to land early, and Mark and I were running a few minutes behind, so we decided to pick them up just outside of the baggage claim instead of go in and meet them.

Abby’s bag was among 4 or 5 that came out right away, so they were waiting on Hannah’s, along with most of the other travelers on their flight, when the conveyor belt stopped cold.  They texted us about the delay so Mark and I drove over to wait in the cell phone lot till they summoned us. Ten minutes later, more luggage came spewing out, but not Hannah’s bag.  We all waited. One more delivery cycle brought almost everyone else’s bag up, but not Hannah’s.

It had been nearly an hour since the plane had landed; clearly something was wrong. Hannah called us, explaining the situation, then, with some hesitation shared, “Um, worse though, is that I didn’t save my receipt. I left it on the plane.”

Terrific. Now we not only had one large lost purple bag, we had no way to identify it with the tracking numbers. I was gearing up for a good lecture that could occupy most of our trip back home after they were in our car on the importance of holding onto your receipt till you had the bag back in your possession. “What were you thinking?” was a common phrase I intended to put to good use as well. I was already mentally preparing a checklist of what she would probably need to replace.

Mark swung back into traffic; we were going to park and go in while he saw what might be done to claim a bag without any receipt.  I began praying earnestly, mixed with excitement at seeing our girls – and of course a proper dose of instruction about wisdom and folly when it came to traveling with luggage.

As we were hustling along the busy airport, I was praying that God might somehow miraculously allow Hannah’s bag to be found still and returned to her, even if it was days later. I wasn’t sure how that could be since the conveyor had long been quiet, but I was leaving the ‘how’ part of the whole thing to God to handle; I had my part to play in the “what have we learned from this?” department.

As we descended the final escalator to the baggage area, Hannah and Abby met us – they both had bags! What had happened?

“It was the craziest thing!” Hannah said excitedly. “We were hanging out near Conveyor 12, hoping for a miracle that it might start up again and my bag would appear, when this man walks directly up to us and says ‘You have a purple coat, might you also have a purple bag that you’re waiting for?’

Hannah couldn’t believe it – sure enough, it was her bag. But where…? How…? Who was he? How had he known of all the people milling about in the massive room that it was her missing bag? Where had it been? All those questions were left unanswered as she stammered out “Oh my goodness, yes! Thank you so much!” As the girls watched him walk away, Hannah commented to her sister, “Keep watching him Abby, because in like 5 seconds he’s going to just “whoosh” away- like an angel!”

I was dumbfounded. Gone were the speeches I’d been preparing, replaced by rejoicing in my heart for what was clearly prayer answered in an astonishing way. Our car ride home was occupied by a whole different sort of conversation than scolding – more like Praising God for his undeserved goodness and Awesomeness!

I don’t know who the man was or where he came from, or any of the other questions I would have liked to ask him if we’d seen him; but I do know that we serve a BIG God who works in mysterious ways sometimes, and that’s all I really need to know.

Have you ever had prayer answered in ways that went beyond explanation?  Did it grow your faith even stronger that God hears us – and answers us? Let’s talk – you know – between friends.

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