Your future is in His hands

"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." Jeremiah 29:11 

Have you ever heard the saying "Tell God your plans to hear Him laugh"? While we might think that we know what is best for our lives, God knows better. You might have plans to be a doctor, while God might be planning to send you to Africa for missionary work. His plans are not always what we want or think we need. I know personally sometimes I just want to say to God, "What on Earth are you doing? There is no way this is going to benefit me in anyway!!" But in the end, God always proves me wrong. Wether it be a break up that leaves you shaken to the core, or an illness that threatens your life, or maybe you change your major, or maybe you go bankrupt; there is a reason. God has the advantage of being able to see the whole picture. He knows how one thing is going to lead to another, because He planned your whole life out before you took your first breath. You can't see that your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke up with you, so that Mister/Mrs. Right can come swooping in. You can't see that you have a new illness so that you can go on to find a cure. You can't see that changing your major means you're going to lead people to Christ.  But God can. God is using you for the glory of His kingdom. Your future is in His hands. He has your best interest at heart, and He has a reason for everything. My advice to you is to stay calm and enjoy the ride, because the outcome will always be the way GOD wants it to be. 

Sorry for missing a day!

Hey y'all! I am so sorry that I did not post encouragement for you all to read yesterday. I fell ill, and was in the Student Health Clinic hooked up to an IV all day. I didn't get a chance to write, but I hope you find encouragement in today's post!
In Christ,
Madison

God is there through it all

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Sometimes when life gets tough, it can seem like God isn't there--like He decided to hang up a "gone to lunch" sign and left you on your own. One of the biggest issues I struggle with as a Christian is: why does God let bad things happen? I used to think that when something bad happened, it was because God just decided to vacate the building. But the Bible says different. The Bible tells us that no matter what, God is ALWAYS there. He knows the "bad things" that are going to happen before they do, and He has a plan for you. I'm sure you've heard the saying "God wouldn't bring you to it, if He didn't plan on getting you through it." That statement could not be more true. God brings us through struggles and hardship to strengthen us. He would never lead you into the dark and then leave you. 

Here's a wonderful real-life example of my mom's struggle with God during times of difficulty. 

Right after hurricane Katrina, when so many people had died or been left homeless, a little boy in our church died out of the blue. Then my mom found out she had a tumor in her neck and her choices were to get it removed or possibly die. The only issue with getting it removed was that it was attached to the nerve that controlled her tongue, and she may never speak again. For someone who loves to sing and write music, that was a huge issue for her. So she wrote this song, and if you have a minute I think you should take a listen: 

http://snd.sc/T5hY25

Turns out that God was there through all of my mother's struggles. She had the tumor removed, and by the grace of God is totally fine! 

God is with us through ALL of our trials and tribulations. Find peace in knowing that He already has a plan for you, and He's got it under control. 

You're beautiful

"Behold, you are beautiful my love behold, you are beautiful." Song of Solomon 1:15

"You are altogether beautiful my love; there is no flaw in you." Song of Solomon 4:7

 God created this world with so much beauty in it. The autumn leaves are a gorgeous site to see. The many mountain ranges of the Earth are absolutely breath taking. There are beautiful animals and creatures all around us. Why then, would you have any doubt that God did not create you with the same amount of beauty? I understand that as females, we are expected to look like Victoria's Secret models 24/7. Truthfully though, almost no one actually looks like that (including the Victoria's Secret models). Woman have such a distorted view of what they are "supposed" to look like, and when we don't live up to that image we are overly harsh with ourselves. I myself can be my own worst critic. People will say "Oh, I love your hair!" and I'm thinking "Oh gosh, I look awful." I'm sure we all have those moments frequently. But, I think if we took a moment to realize that we are EXACTLY how God wants us to be, we would finally see ourselves the way He does. You know that moment everyone talks about when a bride starts her walk down the aisle and the groom just weakens in the knees and begins to cry? The groom is so overwhelmed by his bride's beauty that he cannot contain his excitement. Every girl fantasizes about that moment. We long to feel that beautiful. What if I told you that's how God looks at you every single day?  It doesn't matter if you are a size 24 or a size 00, if your hair is frizzy or smooth, if you're wearing make up or sweatpants, God thinks you are beautiful. And who better to have thinking you're beautiful? I don't know about you, but I'd rather have God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, think I'm beautiful than Brad Pitt, or Joe Shmoe off the street any day. In the end, the only person that matters is God anyway, because Brad Pitt and Joe Shmoe won't be meeting you at the pearly gates. So, the next time you think you look fat, or that your hair isn't straight enough and your make-up looks weird, remember that you were crafted by the hands of God, and you are exactly the way He wants you to be. You are beautiful. 

When in doubt, Pray!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." -Phillipians 4:6

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." -James 5:13-16

"And this is the confidence which we have before Him, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."- James 4:3

The Bible has so many references to the importance of prayer. According to the Bible, when we are in need of something, wether it be assurance, encouragement, financial relief, guidance, or peace, prayer should be our first thought. Unfortunately, for many Christians (including myself) that's not the case. I heard a quote once that said "Have you prayed about it as much as you've talked about it?" That really struck a chord with me. I find that more often than not, when things are not going the way I want them to, I talk about it so much; but when I actually stop to think about it, I realize I haven't even prayed about it. It's shocking how different things play out in my life when I actually take the time to talk to God about it. For example, this summer I needed a job so I could buy a car. I talked about how much I needed a job to everyone I encountered. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and it was causing me such anxiety. But, when I finally stopped talking and started praying, amazing things happened! Not only did God bless me with one job, but He blessed me with two! How awesome is that? So, my advice to you is to stop WORRYING and TALKING about your concerns, wants, needs, etc. and start PRAYING about it. I promise you that there is so much peace in taking your problems to God. He is the creator of this world, so how could He NOT solve your problems. Another quote to keep in mind is "Don't tell God how big your problem is. Tell your problem how big your God is!" God can do anything if you'll jus take the time to ask!

Consider your struggles a gift...

Ok, so some of you may be thinking "this girl is crazy" after reading the title of this post. Once you take  a minute to read what I have to say, I promise it won't sound so far fetched anymore. Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, authors of the book "What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do" tackled this topic in their book. They say this:

"Whether the problem relates to careers, relationships, health, emotions, or loss, we all tend to focus our energies on putting out the fire and making sure it doesn't flare up again soon. It may be a recurring chest pain you just hope will go away. It may be disconnect in your marriage you are learning to cope with. It may be an eating problem for which you are trying various remedies and plans. It's a problem, it's painful, and we want it gone" (page 50).

I don't know about you, but this is so relevant to my life and the way I deal with things. If there's an issue, I just want it to go away. I don't want to deal with it. I don't want to endure it. I'm sure a lot of you can relate to that.

But here is what Cloud and Townsend have to say about that:

"God sees our difficulties very differently than we do...God loves you completely and wants the best for you. But he is less concerned about your immediate comfort than about your long-term health and growth" (page 51).

Consider what the Bible has to say about struggle in James 1:2-3:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

Basically, what I'm trying to show you is that God is bringing you through struggle for some higher reason. I don't know what that reason may be, and neither do you. The most important thing is that you are not going through hardship for nothing. There is something good that will come of it. Just to give you a real life example-- I have Cystic Fibrosis. This past winter I was hospitalized for the first time since I was diagnosed when I was 1 1/2 years old. I had pneumonia and a kidney infection. I was extremely ill, and supposed to return to college in just one week. The doctors wanted to keep me in the hospital for a MINIMUM of ten days (meaning I had know idea if I would even be able to go back to school). As if that wasn't bad enough, I also had horrible nurses. I mean, I'm talking down-right awful. I went 24 hours without being fed. I had some of them tell me I was just some "teenager looking for drugs." I would lay there in pain for hours before they would come help me. They were rude, inconsiderate, and made me feel a hundred times worse than I already did. So there I was, 18 years old, in the hospital, wondering if I would have to drop out of school (which I did), and dealing with these awful nurses. I really struggled with why God was putting me through all that. Now that its over and I look back on it, I see exactly why He put me through it. Not only was He trying to show me that I need to take better care of my health so things like that don't happen, but He was also trying to make me realize there is a demand for caring nurses who understand what it's like to be a patient. So,  now that I'm back in school, I've changed my major to nursing, and I couldn't be more grateful for the struggles God brought me through last winter. 

"Don't ask God to get rid of your problems, and don't merely tolerate them. Welcome them as gifts and you will find God's way through them. View your problems as the next steps of growth for you" (Cloud and Townsend page 57)

You are loved

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. I know this verse can seem a little cliche, and I'm sure you've heard it a thousand times. But, I feel like this one verse holds so much weight for us. Let's take a minute to really grasp this concept. Imagine you had one child. That's it, just one. Now imagine how much you would love that child. That one child would change your whole world. You would experience a love like never before (some of you reading this may have children, so you will really get this). Now imagine loving people you've never even met enough to let your ONE AND ONLY child be brutally murdered, just so others could live a saved life. I'm assuming most of you would never in a million years ever let that happen. But God loves us THAT MUCH! He loves us so much that He was willing to SEND His son to earth, let him walk among humans, and then be KILLED on the cross, so that we could be saved from ourselves. That is so amazing to me! If you're feeling down in the dumps, like you don't matter or aren't very important because your boyfriend just broke up with you, or your parents kicked you out, and  now your best friend is mad at you; I hope you'll remember that the almighty God loves YOU (yes YOU!)! He loves you so much that He sent his only son to die so that you could spend eternal life with Him. Know that God is thinking about you; He is watching over you; and that HE LOVES YOU!