God Has a Plan
As I've openly stated on this site many times, I don't enjoy sitting down and writing without an idea or some kind of topic in which I can run with. Today is no different, except that as I'm praying this prayer, I realize that God has already provided me with a topic for today; it's not exactly under the greatest of circumstances that I came by it, but it's an idea and a way to witness nonetheless.
A few moments ago, my wife informed me that one her close friends, whom she grew up with, lost her boyfriend last night; he was killed in a collision. Upon speaking with her a bit more, I've also been informed that she's already lost her Father to suicide and a brother to car wreck as well; so I'm sure this girl has a lot on her mind, as she has already been through quite a lot.
This is kind of where I want to start off today, on the subject of death, which is quite often a powerful tool that the Devil uses to gain a foothold in our lives. How many times have you heard of or seen someone who has lost someone close to them and began blaming God for their loss. How often have you seen them turn away from their faith and begin doing whatever they see fit and living a completely sinful lifestyle? In many of these situations, the death of the individual could have very well been their fault; depending on their lifestyle and what they subjected themselves to, their decisions could have brought them to a swifter death. Take smokers and drinkers for example, these things will utterly destroy your bodies organs and how they function; yet you see them continue to partake of them anyway, right up until they are diagnosed with a disease.
What we should remember is that it's not God's fault that these things are happening, but rather that He is allowing them to happen for a predetermined amount of time. When you look at all the pain and suffering that God allows to happen in comparison to eternity, it's nothing but the blink of an eye; somewhat like a single grain of sane on an entire beach. Our Father planned this from the beginning of our creation, He knew that we would sin and bring suffering to the world, but it will only continue until He returns to take us home. He has graciously given us enough time to make the decision whether we will live our lives in sin or seek Him for forgiveness. We cannot blame God for the death of our loved ones when in reality it is our fault that we are condemned to death in the first place, everyone dies, we just don't know when that time will come.
We tend to look at the death of a loved one from a single perspective, our own, how it directly impacts our life and what we've lost. If we were to pause and take a look at how God may be using this persons death to impact the lives of those who are around them, we may very well come to a much different and unselfish conclusion. It could be that the death of this person is an eye opener to someone else in the family, it could cause them to be all along, having nobody else to turn to except God. I'm sure you've heard the term that God works in mysterious ways, well, it's very true. We're merely human, we have no idea what God has in store for our lives, but He does. We only think from a human perspective and are incapable of understanding Him; God doesn't even have to think, He knows. Did you know that nothing has every occurred to God because He knows all? (Kudos to Pastor Jeff for that last thought!)
Here's the mindset and the thought process we need to encourage to other Christians and non-believers alike, there is no need to fear or mourn the loss of a loved one, if, they have placed their trust in and given their sins to Jesus Christ. We are told that if we believe in Jesus that we will be saved from death and an eternity of suffering. To take it a step farther of how much power Jesus Christ holds over death and the grave, he faced each one head on and raised by the power of God from their grasp. Jesus was sacrificed for our sins, remained dead in the grave for three days, and was brought back by the power of my Lord. It is also stated in the book of Revelations that death and the grave will both be cast into the lake of fire, along with Satan and all his minions; as well as all those who did not repent and believe in Jesus. I'm not entirely capable of understanding how death and the grave will be cast into hell, it sort of sounds like they're referred to as beings; but then again, I also don't have to understand, I simply need to believe.
I want to extend to all of you today who have never sought forgiveness for your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ an opportunity to do so now. All you really have to do is acknowledge that you are a sinner, it's nothing that you can help, but just the way you were born; realize this, acknowledge that Jesus died for these sins, and ask for his forgiveness. If you believe this in your heart and confess it with your mouth, you can have full confidence that you will be spared from eternal death; rejoice, you're now a member of the body of Christ and know that all of heaven is celebrating with you. If you have done this today, I would like you to take a step of confidence and humility by telling everyone here about your decision, it's nothing to be ashamed of; feel free to leave us a comment below.
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Why not continue reading about our Father in my last post about Christian Fellowship in the Church?
God Bless!
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