Life is a continual path of making choices and decisions and plans. Some of the decisions we must make are clear and straight forward while others are very difficult and in our minds we toss around the pros and cons. Praying for God's guidance, and seeking His direction from the Bible are the most important ways to receive the input that we need in our decision making. In James 4:13-15 we find these words:
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
From this passage we understand that our lives are in the Hand of the Lord. The fact that we are breathing and have life in our bodies today is a gift from the Lord. We need to recognize that it is a gift from the Lord that we are able to have a job, earn money, and that His purposes for our lives override anything that we think we may personally want to do with our lives and for ourselves. If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
We look not to what other people have in their lives, or what they do with their lives and thereby choose to do what they do in order to live a happy copycat life.... No - we seek the direction and path that God has chosen for us as individuals and ask - Lord what do you have planned for me - how can I serve You and fulfill the plan you have for me?? The road God has chosen for you may be very difficult and unglamorous but still by the power of God filled with hope and joy as you see Him working and proving the truth of the Bible over and over again.
Where is God leading me and what does He want from me? - these are hard questions for many people but we need not doubt the Lord in His plans for us. No matter who we are or what age and stage of life we are in - God has plans for us. Many elderly people wonder how they can be used of the Lord in their later years. I would like to encourage anyone who is house bound for any reason to take up the role of "prayer warrior." Pray for our churches leaders and Pastors to follow the Lord and not shrink from their responsibilities in these last days, that they preach the truth and not give way to the soft fuzzy feel good preaching that abounds today. Pray for our children, students, and youth to say NO to the culture of moral corruptness that is everywhere. Pray government leaders to stop the homosexual movement and make God honoring choices for our country. Pray for the pornography and vile entertainment business to be shut down. Pray for health for your loved ones etc. Pray for salvation for the lost and for a spiritual awakening in our land. Keep praying even if you don't see results in your lifetime.
For a stay at home Mom as I myself am, I know that having spent most of my so called "good years" raising my three sons and now caring for my special needs daughter, my life seems very unglamourous to many people who have careers and who travel and spend time in many different places. I want to be faithful to the Lord in what He has called me to do, to be a person of prayer, and I add my voice to John's and say with him in 3 John 1:4 where he says: I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
1 Peter 4: 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
So if you are in a place today where you are making plans and choices for your future or just wondering what you can do for the Lord in your stage of life, - may I encourage you to seek the Lord and remember to lay up your treasure in Heaven - forget about living a life of pleasure and ease, forget about the "American Dream" and rather serve the Lord in the place he calls you to serve.
In Jeremiah 29:11 the Lord says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
From this passage we understand that our lives are in the Hand of the Lord. The fact that we are breathing and have life in our bodies today is a gift from the Lord. We need to recognize that it is a gift from the Lord that we are able to have a job, earn money, and that His purposes for our lives override anything that we think we may personally want to do with our lives and for ourselves. If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
We look not to what other people have in their lives, or what they do with their lives and thereby choose to do what they do in order to live a happy copycat life.... No - we seek the direction and path that God has chosen for us as individuals and ask - Lord what do you have planned for me - how can I serve You and fulfill the plan you have for me?? The road God has chosen for you may be very difficult and unglamorous but still by the power of God filled with hope and joy as you see Him working and proving the truth of the Bible over and over again.
Where is God leading me and what does He want from me? - these are hard questions for many people but we need not doubt the Lord in His plans for us. No matter who we are or what age and stage of life we are in - God has plans for us. Many elderly people wonder how they can be used of the Lord in their later years. I would like to encourage anyone who is house bound for any reason to take up the role of "prayer warrior." Pray for our churches leaders and Pastors to follow the Lord and not shrink from their responsibilities in these last days, that they preach the truth and not give way to the soft fuzzy feel good preaching that abounds today. Pray for our children, students, and youth to say NO to the culture of moral corruptness that is everywhere. Pray government leaders to stop the homosexual movement and make God honoring choices for our country. Pray for the pornography and vile entertainment business to be shut down. Pray for health for your loved ones etc. Pray for salvation for the lost and for a spiritual awakening in our land. Keep praying even if you don't see results in your lifetime.
For a stay at home Mom as I myself am, I know that having spent most of my so called "good years" raising my three sons and now caring for my special needs daughter, my life seems very unglamourous to many people who have careers and who travel and spend time in many different places. I want to be faithful to the Lord in what He has called me to do, to be a person of prayer, and I add my voice to John's and say with him in 3 John 1:4 where he says: I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
1 Peter 4: 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
So if you are in a place today where you are making plans and choices for your future or just wondering what you can do for the Lord in your stage of life, - may I encourage you to seek the Lord and remember to lay up your treasure in Heaven - forget about living a life of pleasure and ease, forget about the "American Dream" and rather serve the Lord in the place he calls you to serve.
In Jeremiah 29:11 the Lord says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
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