Happy Friday, Friends! Phew, I don’t know about you, but this week has been INSANE! It was just one of those weeks where there were not enough hours in any of the days… Like just a bunch of Mondays happening over and over again…. Anyways, glad this is over. Now, we can recoup this weekend and prep our hearts for next week.
Today, I want to ask you a very serious question:
What does God have for you?
In our lives, we are often faced with this question. It doesn’t always present itself this way, but nonetheless, we are often asking ourselves what God has for us. Some of the various ways this questions arises include going through life wondering what you should do when you grow up, or who you should marry, or how many kids should you have. Maybe it manifests itself in the questions about where you should attend church, should you join that small group your friend invited you to, or do you really need those shoes?
One of the questions I have been asked recently is Why is God doing this to me? and Why would He allow this to happen to me? Before this week, I had thought of these questions a lot, mainly in my personal life, but also for friends, family members, and clients. These are hard questions, ya’ll. They’re the kinds of questions we sometimes regret asking, and they are the questions we sometimes never get to answer. But, I feel these are the questions that reflect our desire to know What EXACTLY does God have for us?
Let’s break it down.
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.
I know… I know… This is such an easy “go-to” verse in answering this question, so stop judging me. I can feel it. Read the verse again, like you are reading it for the first time. Ask God the questions, What do You have for me? and He will answer, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
This.
This is what God has for you. He has good things planned for you. He has prosperous plans for you. He has hope to offer you, and He has a future with your name written all over it. He does not have evil planned for you. He doesn’t have grief and pain to offer you. But instead, He has love and life that is readily available for you today, tomorrow, and the day after that.
2 Corinthians 9: 14-15
And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Grace.
Lord, have mercy! Does He ever know how to provide what I need?! I am in a constant state of needing grace. I’m serious! This is something that I struggle with every single day. I am constantly seeking grace and forgiveness for my thoughts, or the things I say, some of my actions. The Lord knows me, and yet He still, day after day, continues to give me grace in my many failures…
Now, ya’ll know grace is different than forgiveness right? God forgives us of our sins almost instantaneously, but grace is not forgiveness. Grace is loving us even though He knows we are going to fail again tomorrow. Grace is not letting us fall into the consequences we so often deserve. Grace is what keeps us from asking “Why did God allow this to happen to me?” but instead creating moments of “Thank you God for sparing and protecting me!” God does not owe us grace, yet He provides it when we least deserve it.
Fast Forward.
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
God knew we were going to suffer. He knew we were going to fall into what may be our worst case scenario. He knew we were going to make decisions that would cause us to cry out Why God? WHY? and this is why He gives us grace. He pre-equips us for the trials we will face.
It’s like the saying God never gives you more than you can handle. I feel we dare to disagree with that statement from time to time. But, ask yourself. Have you ever been through something that you weren’t able to survive? Honestly, did you make it out alive? I didn’t say unscratched or without difficulty. I asked… but did you die?
No.
No you did not.
You might feel like you lost a part of yourself or that maybe a part of you died in that moment or situation. Trust me. I have been there. I have felt the same way. I have asked God these questions, and I will probably ask Him again one day. Why did you let this happen to me? I don’t know if that is the right question though. Instead, I think we should be asking, What do you have for me? and this is a question that we have the answer to.
He has good for us. Always.
Whatever you are going through right now, I hope that you will allow God room to move in your life. Maybe you are just so incredibly exhausted with a situation, and you are feeling defeated. Or maybe you are still fighting, but it’s hard. It’s really, really hard. Ask Him What do you have for me in this situation? Seek Him out, and He will reveal Himself to you. It sounds easier said that done, but trust me, He has good things for you.
Before signing off, I want to remind you that if you are in a place where someone is hurting you, know that harm does not come from God. He does not have that for you. In scripture, God never says that our journey will be easy or without trials, but He does promise us a future with plans to prosper us. The choice for us is determining when to walk away from the things that God does not have for us. It’s not always easy, and it’s not usually clear at first. But once you can see that something is not from God, you have the power to free yourself.
– the Wife
EAT PRAY WIFE 