Future Days

This week has been so revealing to me. God has removed so many of my fears and replaced them with His hope and love. This nation has made destructive decisions and I wonder if it could get any worse. The truth is that it will. But the fruit of the Spirit is peace. Peace in turmoil. I know my God. He has great plans for His children. He is Lord of the righteous and unrighteous. Matthew 13:15 reminds me of our nation: "For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them." Most of our leaders and people in this nation have closed their hearts to God. Much like the prodigal child. And I pray earnestly that they will return, but I know that their lives will have to be shaken. Our nation will be shaken and when we drop to our knees and turn to Christ we will be healed. We should not fear this. This doesn't mean that we allow ourselves to be run over. We remain obedient to God and trust Him to take care of the rest. I am dissappointed with the decisions of our leaders, but I do not fear the future. Our Lord knows the plans he has and His plans always work for His glory. Jeremiah 29:12-14 "'Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you.' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.'"
Most of us had our lives shaken before we were willing to earnestly seek Christ. God was so patient with us and in turn we are to be patient to others. We are to speak the truth in love and with urgency. Then, when we as a nation turn back to Him, He promises to bring us back from captivity! God is so patient, loving, and forgiving. I am sure you have all seen this played out in your life. In my life I was held captive by fear of the future. God has used my marriage to refine me. This week He spoke the same thing to me through different things. I now see that God is working and has everything planned out. Why do I need to worry over such things? Instead I thank Him for the work He has done and the work He is going to do. God has promised that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28), to supply our every need (Phil. 4:19), and that His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9)! I choose to give all things up to Christ (sometimes with trembling hands, as Pastor Steve said on Sunday) and trust HIM!!!

Upon reading the blogs I follow, I saw a verse posted that speaks to what I just wrote above. From my friend at 2 little Boys and a Blessing on the way. 2 Cor. 4:16-18 "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."