You know, I think I am going to wander a little from the subject of this article. Imagine that.
As many of you know, it seems like my family has been under attack lately. After my brothers passing a year and a half ago, there have been cousins, sisters, granddaughters, a brother in-law and now a nephew. I praise God every day that they all know/knew Him as their personal savior. God has a plan for each of them. My hope and prayer is that, according to His will, they will be totally healed. If God chooses to heal them in heaven instead, then I will choose to accept that His plan is bigger and better than mine.
No matter how grateful you are for God’s love and His plan, sometimes a doubt tries to wiggle its way into your heart and mind. That’s when the bond of friendship and support steps in and lifts you up. I am so thankful for each of you and your prayers. I am so thankful for our Thursday group. We are small, but God is faithful and present with us every week. There are many weeks that their love and friendship and support keep me strong for one more week. We all have a bond and it is strengthened by the love of Christ.
We need to always remember to be thankful. If you don’t know what for, just look around you. I thank God for Pastor Tom and Jean. Their total, unselfish devotion to our church family is amazing. I thank God for all of the answered prayers and everyone who makes our church family what it is.
We need to pray. Pray for healing – of bodies, minds and our spirits. Pray for strength and comfort for all who are hurting and all who don’t have the support system that we do. Pray for our president. Even if you don’t like him, he is our president and needs every prayer he can get.
We need to love. Love God and love your neighbor, even when they aren’t very lovable. Make the first move. A kind word and maybe, the only hug they have had for a long time. It truly is the little things. Show them God’s love. You may be the only Bible they ever read.
One of my favorite quotes is from the movie War Room: “You‘ve got to plead with God so that He can do what only He can do. Then you‘ve got to get out of the way and let Him do it!” Miss Clara.
Pray Unceasingly!!
In His light,
Lois
The Sovereign God
The Daniel Plan
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. —1 Chronicles 29:11 NIV
God is sovereign. That means he rules over every event, even the tiniest, and he is in control of what happens to us. He knows everything—nothing is a mystery to him. He has perfect wisdom—he knows what will be the outcome of anything anyone does. He has all power—he can do anything that is consistent with his nature. By his sovereignty, he rules his whole creation. Because God is sovereign, we can have lasting change and spiritual growth only if we cooperate with God in pursuing them. We can’t change on our own. Yet he won’t do it without our cooperation. In his love, he has granted us the freedom to choose whether and how we want to change. We have the awesome privilege of being in partnership with the Creator of the universe in the task of shaping our lives according to his design.
Food for Thought: Pursue your transformation, knowing that the sovereign God is working in you according to the plan he dreamed for you when he created you.