because of all these closed doors, i am now faced with a choice: do i sit and complain that God closed that door or do i thank Him and trust in His plan for my life?
to be honest, I have done both. to be even more honest, i have complained a lot more that i have thanked Him. but slowly, i am learning what trusting God with your life looks like and how it is lived out in my daily life.
God has a plan.
He has had a plan since the beginning of time.
this plan is not just a plan for my life, but a plan for the whole world.
a plan that will restore all of creation back to perfection.
this plan has been going on before i was born and will continue after i die.
it is the plan to restore the whole world.
and i know that God has a place for me in that plan.
... He has been reminding me that He wants to use all of His children in that plan and He has a place for them to do the work that He has created them to do.
"But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?
"Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "
Does not the Potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
-------> romans 9:20&21
sometimes this is hard. it is hard to trust. it is hard to hand over control and to live in dependance on God...... but i trust Him. i trust my Father. i trust that He knows what is best. i trust that He created me for a purpose. i trust that He is working for the good of the whole world. i trust that He uses me in that plan of restoration. i trust that He has a plan even though sometimes that plan looks different that the plan that i thought. but i trust that He is a good, good Father.
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"
-------> matthew 7:11
the hardest part for me right now is, because of all the closed doors, i don't know what to do. i don't know where my place is. i don't know where and how i should be involved in God's plan of restoring the whole world.
the story that keeps coming to mind is the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. i heard this story taught on every week for 3 months while i was an intern in guatemala in 2013, and what i learned there keeps coming to mind...
there is so much i could unpack, but i am just going to emphasize 1 point today.
(i am also going to assume that you all know the story. if you don't please go read matthew 14:13-21)
the disciples come to Jesus and tell Him what do to. "send the crowds away. it's late. they need to eat. Jesus, send the people away. stop teaching them." (my paraphrase)
i am so like the disciples. i always try and tell Jesus what to do. but He is God. He has His own plan.
i am so like the disciples. i always try and tell Jesus what to do. but He is God. He has His own plan.
instead of doing what His disciples said, Jesus tells His disciples what to do. He says to them, "You give them something to eat!"
YOU.
what can you do with what you have?
Jesus gave you what you have to be used for His purposes. He gave you good gifts to share with others. even if it seems small and insignificant, He knows. He knows what you are thinking, however, He wants to use YOU with YOUR gifts. He wants to use you because He created you with a purpose. He created you to fit into the plan that He has for restoring the whole world.
please take a moment and listen to this song.
"Little is much when God's in it.
And no one can fathom the plans He holds.
Little is much when God's in it.
He changes the world with the seeds we sow.
Little is much."
how is God calling you to use your gifts to join in His restoration of the world?
