Day 13
i remember very vividly when i knew i was supposed to start speaking and teaching on biblical truths of faith in family....i can still feel the uneasy feeling in my stomach and the anxiety i felt as i stood in church service after church service wanting to go down front and pray...it was not a choice i was going to be able to not make, it had already been made for me...i could have continued to run from it and exasperate all other options, like teaching in sunday school or singing in the choir, but the choice was made...i have known since i was 12 years old i was supposed to be in some form of ministry...and i remember running from it then too...i can remember standing in church as the invitation was going on and looking at my white knuckles clenching to the pew in front of me...i can remember giving into the temptations and peer pressure during high school and knowing it was wrong...as an adult i can think of numerous times i would make deals with God and he always kept his end of the deal and i would find some other excuse not to do what i should...
i started thinking about all the choices i have made in life and i realized, any choices concerning God's calling on my life had already been made for me, i just needed to give in and trust him...
i have a friend who made a choice to go to Honduras...he built what he calls "huts" for families living in a dump...the look in his eyes as he talks about the ministry and what he saw is amazing...as he explains what God did in his life, you can see his mind going back and reliving the experiences and emotions he felt as he did God's work...you can see the sorrow he feels for the people he helped during his time spent working for God...because he made a choice to serve God and go, you can see a father leading his family as a Godly father...you can tell he had no choice about this, it was made for him before he even realized...
a close couple to my family made a choice to become foster parents of 2 little boys needing a Godly home...as i watched them go through the process, i realized God had already decided this would be their home...they have looked for the reason they were called to Ada, Ok....God chose 2 little boys to be one of the reasons...all they had to do was fill out the paperwork...i have seen first hand through their eyes and actions how God chooses us and gives us the the opportunity to serve in the way we are called...because of a willingness to choose, 2 little boys are saved literally and spiritually...
i have some really close friends who made a choice to adopt a child from another country...as i heard their story of how they decided to adopt, i thought this choice was already made for them, all they had to do is get started...you can see the way they speak to one another is changing and more emotions are expressing themselves that are unexplainable...a closeness to God and each other...because a couple chose to make a choice, a little boy they have never seen or touched in real life will have an opportunity to be sincerely loved and by starting the process, i can see God working through them in a great and awesome way...
what amazes me, the more i study the word, God allows us to make choices to the choices he has already made for us...we can only run so long before we will give in...
we screw it up by allowing ourselves or others to discourage us from the choice God has already made...i wonder if God gets upset watching us continually choose not to do what he has already chose for us...
Prov. 19:21
"many are the plans of a mans heart, but Gods purpose always prevails."
Psalm 33:11
"but the plans of the Lord stand forever, the purposes of his heart through all generation."
Prov. 16:3
"commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."
Jer. 29:11
"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 a hope and a future."
these verses are just a few in the bible where God shows us he is in control and we need to choose to follow His will for our lives....
Challenge:
Take some time and pray about the choices you need to make...
Challenge 2:
Write down what God needs you to do...
Write down how you will do it....
Talk to your spouse about it....
this will be the toughest and hardest challenge you do...it means you are going to be completely trusting God will take care of it all...it means you are going to take a leap of faith...it could be a number of things, but we all have choices we need to make today that will make tomorrow better for God, us, our families, and the world...
the choices are already made, will you give in.....
justinpresley1977@gmail.com
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