God has a Plan!

"In Him also we have obtained an inheritance,
 having been predestined according to His purpose
who works all things after the counsel of His will,
 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ
would be to the praise of His glory.
 Ephesians 1:10b-12

God has a plan.  We have obtained an inheritance!  God has an eternal plan and a "now"plan for your life.  That is good news.  I don't have to be in control!  God is!  He was on His throne during the flood, and He is on His throne now!  Sometimes we wonder.  We see chaos, and sin and perversion all around us.  We see God's people hating and fighting.  We see others turning to their own ways.  And we wonder - is God in control? 

His eternal plan for us is this inheritance.  By giving us an inheritance, God is claiming us as His sons and daughters!  This inheritance is eternity with Him.  Yes, it includes streets of gold, and a tree that produces a different fruit each month, and a stream of water and a place in heaven, but the essence of the inheritance is time forever with the Father!  That is precious and can't be taken away from us.  We must keep it in view at all times.  In the darkness of life on earth, there shines a great Light - Jesus!  And if we will stay in the Light and refuse the darkness, we will live a life free of sin and shame and guilt.  Grace was given.  Mercy was extended.  Our reward is sure.  Look to heaven in order to get through this life.  God is in control!

God has a "now" plan for us as well.  Your story is different than everyone else's story.  Don't look to others to know your path, look to God.  Don't compare, you will despair!  This is our human tendency - to look at what God is doing or has done for others and wish that we had the same story.  It is not to be.  God has a plan for your life different than all others because you are unique and special.  He will relate to you as differently as a father relates to his different children.  I had a reader.  He would read for hours.  Then he would be anti-social.  I would have to ground him from books and insist that he play outside and with others.  I have 4 non-readers.  I would have to sit them down and put a book into their hands.  I knew what each child needed and it was different.  God knows what you need and it is different! God is in control!

We all need the Father's love and the Savior's salvation.  But some of us need tough love and others need comforting love.  Some of us need hard circumstances to make us grow closer to God, others only need a nudge.  But know that God will work all things after the counsel of His will.  He has a plan and it is for our ultimate good - our eternal life.  And in the midst, whatever God allows to come into your life, it is for you to turn around into His glory.  Are you pain filled!  Praise God.  Are you paralyzed? Praise God!  Are you broke?  Praise God!  Has someone you loved died?  Praise God!  He promises to use all things in our lives for our good.  The circumstance may be daunting, but Praise God that He will use it to draw us closer to Him, to witness to others, to help us to shed our selfishness, to use it to comfort others in like situations.  He has a plan.  It includes the good, the bad, and the ugly, but always the plan is good because it will lead us to Him. God is in control!

Hint of the day: When something bad happens help your children to see the good in it.  a flat tire? - an opportunity to use a skill that you know and a chance to witness to those who stop to help!  Sickness? - a chance ot spend more concentrated time with God.  A friend who betrayed you? - a chance to realize that God was protecting you from deeper hurt down the road.  A thankful heart will turn any situation upside down.  Be thankful.  Your kids will catch it!