Does God Change His Mind?

 

"I have seen your tears. Behold I will heal you. On The third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to your life." (2 Kings 20:5) 

As Christians we believe that God is in control of everything that goes on in our lives. The outcome of every situation is governed by the hand of our awesome God. At one point God has things headed in one direction, and then because of His sovereign will, He decides on a different destiny for us. Does God do that? 

Let's look at how God worked in the life of King Hezekiah. King Hezekiah was a good and faithful king of Judah. (18:1,2) During his reign he became ill, and the Lord told him that he needed to get his house in order, because He was going to die. King Hezekiah turned to the Lord in prayer, and he wept before the Lord. He was not old, and and felt that he had more to give the Lord, in the position He had placed Him in. 

The prophet Isaiah came to him, and told him, that the Lord would heal him, and add fifteen years to his life. (20:6) Not only that, but the Lord would deliver Judah, from the hand of the Assyrians. (20:6) 

I believe that God knew all along what He would do in regards to King Hezekiah. It was a test of faith for Hezekiah to turn to the Lord in prayer, and petition for his life, and service for the Lord. God honored that prayer, and gave King Hezekiah his life back. 

We must trust the Lord in all things, and accept the fact, that God's will is best for us. It's not wrong to petition the Lord in regard to the challenges in our lives. When things fall in line with our petitions, it is an assurance to us, that this is the will of God. 

In the Bible, at times, God changed the course of His will, because of various factors involved. (Jeremiah 18:1-11, Exodus 32:14) For us, we may not understand, the change of direction, or plan of God at the time; but one thing we can be certain of; God always has our best interest at heart, and He will always take care of us. It is a matter of our solid faith in God. 

Whether we live, or die, we are in the Lord's hands. He is always at work to accomplish His will for our lives. And yes, that should be a great comfort to us! GP 

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Preparation For God's Plan

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) 

When life takes a turn for the worst, and we find ourselves wondering what is going to happen next, what do we do? It's a quick reaction to want to stick our head in the sand, and hope that all of the negative will go away.

It's hard to think that God wants the best for us, when (in our minds)
He let this bad experience happen to us. The reality is that life isn't fair.
And we never know what is around the corner. Just when life is running smooth, and things are good, life throws us a negative curve ball, and we end up frustrated, anxious, and discouraged.

The prophet Jeremiah in this writing gave the people of Judah encouragement. Following the seventy year captivity, God would bring them back to their homeland, where they would have "a future and a hope"

God has a plan for each one of us. I know that it is hard to get a hold of, when we're feeling abandoned, and we wonder if God will deliver us from our severe situation. But if there is one thing we find in Scripture, and in our own life experiences: is the fact that God is faithful. And in His time, and in His way, He will fulfill His plan for our lives.

It is a walk of faith. And it may be difficult for a season. But instead of dwelling on the problems, we need to focus on the path ahead of us.
And if we look through the eyes of faith, we will see God leading the way.

Let's trust the Lord today, with all of our heart, and leave tomorrow in His hands! GP

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"This Is The Way, Walk In It"

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)

 We have all heard it said in regards to making decisions, that there comes a time when:
"We must follow our heart." 
When it comes to doing the right thing, what is our heart telling us?

 But we are told in Scripture to "not lean on our own understanding"
(Proverbs 3:5) but to follow God's guidance.
Then the question comes: "What is God wanting me to do in this specific situation? 

I believe that when we put all our selfish motives away, that cloud our thinking, we will be better able to come to an understanding of what God's will is for us. The nation of Israel needed to repent, and turn away from idol worship. They needed to place self aside, and then be sensitive to hear the Word of the Lord behind them, saying "This is the way, walk in it" (v.21) 

It's not easy to know the will of God. But it will be made easier, when we humble ourselves, and submit to the teachings, and providence of God.
The more that we seek the wisdom of God, the more likely we will understand, what He has for us to know, and to do.

And open heart to God's Word, leads to a productive life. So today, let's commit to allowing the Word of God to speak to our challenging situations. What we cannot fix, God can, and will, if only we will trust in His wisdom, and guidance, instead of our own. GP

My Life, Or God's

"My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways." (Proverbs 23:26) 

As a Christian, is the life that I live, my life, or does it belong to God?

I think about the story of the little boy you built a little sail boat, and took it down to the lake to float it in the water. Everything was find until the little boat got away from the little boy, and he had to watch his little boat disappear from site. Then one day he was passing a store, and he saw his little boat in the storefront window. Right away, he went in, and purchased his little boat. As he walked home with his little boat, in his hands, he said: "Little boat, you are twice mine, first I made you, and then I bought you."

We are like that little boat; created by God, and then lost because of sin.
But then through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, we were purchased with His precious blood. We are not our own. We belong to God. We are His children, we are apart of His wonderful family.

In the time that we have, it is not the time to be selfish with our lives.
We must always ask the questions: What does God want my life to be? What does God want me to do with my life? When God reveals the specific things concerning His will, He expects us to follow through! GP

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Doing The Will Of The Father

"Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me nevertheless not My will, but Yours. be done." 
(Luke 22:42) 

Here is where the battle against Satan was met with great submissiveness and strength. When it comes time for us to meet the battle of our trials head on, will we face them the same way that Jesus did?

No way would anyone want to go and die on a cross, even the Son of God. Some have had the gall to call this moment, "a moment of weakness." But in reality, this was a very great display of strength.
It takes faith, and a lot of courage to say, "Father, I know what I would rather do, but if it is Your will that I go through this trial, than let it be as you say." 

Satan would love it if we would back away, or run away, and stick our heads in the sand, hoping that everything will go away. But how many times, have we woke up the next morning, and had to face the same mountain of trials again. Yes, they were still there.

But following through with our Heavenly Father's will, does not mean that we will have to do it alone. Following Jesus' prayer, an angel came and strengthened Him.(v.43) We may not physically see an angel, but that's not to say, that one won't be with us, as we go through this tough experience.

All of heaven is behind us, when we face those tough battles in our lives. God's will is always best, even when it is hard to accept.
But know this, God will always be with us, to bring us through the storms of life. To bring us to the blue sky of peace in our hearts. GP

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