An Expected End

How easy it is to return to what or who you know even if it’s not the best place for you. You know what to expect and you have learned to adapt or compensate for any adversity associated with it.

Years ago I took a motorcycle riding course. Perhaps you ride yourself or have noticed a rider changing lanes. To change lanes or move into a different direction the instructor stated you must look in the direction you want to go. If you want to go left you look left, if you want to go right you look right. If you want to go straight ahead you look straight ahead. The direction you look in will be the direction you will move in. I never quite conquered the skill of riding but I always remembered those words. Look in the direction you want to go.

Have you ever made a decision to go in a certain direction, take a certain path? Perhaps you have taken a few steps in that direction but for some reason didn’t continue. Maybe you were unsure about the path you were taking so you ventured into a different direction or returned to an old familiar path. A path where you knew what could be expected.

We read in the book of Exodus, after the death of Joseph came a new king. A king or Pharaoh who feared the children of Israel because they were mighty in number. He was concerned in the case of war the children of Israel would side with the enemy. So he devised a plan to burden them with heavy tasks thinking the population would diminish. Instead, they multiplied and grew stronger. An angry Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill any son that was born to the women of Israel and only deliver daughters. But the women of Israel were strong. They were able to deliver their babies without the midwives. Finally Pharaoh ordered his people to throw every son that was born into the river and only leave the daughters to live. But a certain male child after his birth was hidden by his parents and later resided in the very home of Pharaoh.

Pharaoh tried everything he could to destroy the children of Israel. But unbeknownst to him God had another plan. God was raising up a savior, a certain male child born to deliver His people.

When God has a plan nothing can prevent it from going forward, and guess what my friend, if you are reading this God has a plan for you! He has a plan for all of His children. His plan just as His thoughts toward us are of peace, and not of evil, to give us an expected end as we read in Jeremiah 29:11. A good end, an end that will be greater than our past.

God wants each of us to be free from any bondage of our past. Free from anything and everything that prevents us from moving in the direction in which He wants us to move. Free from things and yes people that are not supportive of His vision and plan for us, the naysayers, the doubters, the people that may not be looking in and moving in the right direction themselves, so they want to keep you from looking in and moving in the right direction.

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18-19).

God wants to do a new thing in your life. It may be easier to stay where you are, doing what you are doing even if it’s not the best place for you. If may be easier to stay in a relationship or on a job where you are unhappy, not growing, being stifled. You may remain because it’s the only thing you know. You are familiar with your surroundings, so you stay in that place rather than move in the direction you know God has for you.

Even though God placed a savior in the lives of the children of Israel to lead them into a better place there were still times when they wanted to return to Egypt. It was a familiar place. They knew what to expect.

God wants to deliver you today. He wants to move you towards His plan for your life. He does not want you to look back nor does He want you to turn back. He wants you to move forward. He wants to move you into His plan. The plan with an expected, victorious and prosperous end.

 

 

You Are Amazing

Oftentimes we say we are waiting on God, when He is actually waiting on us. He tells us to do all we can then stand. Are you doing all that you can do, or are you standing first and waiting for God to move?  

When you delve into the word of God you will find He has given us the power to get wealth. He tells us not to neglect the gift that is in us. If we meditate on His word and follow it we will make our way prosperous and have good success.

God requires us to take a proactive role and be an active participant in the wonderful life He has predestined for us. Faith without works is dead. You can believe until you are blue in the face, but if you truly believe you will take steps towards your belief. Are you sitting on the recipe for the best cheesecake anyone has ever tasted? How will anyone know about your cheesecake if you never share it? Do you have a clothing design that will revolutionize the fashion industry? Perhaps your life has changed by implementing an idea God has given you. Wouldn’t you like to see others benefit as you have?

No man, when he lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light (Luke 11:33). What is the light that is in you? Is it hidden in a secret place, stuck in your mind, your dreams, your vision board, or have you taken that light and exposed it for all to see? You have been given whatever gift(s) that is in you for a reason. It’s not just for your benefit but for the benefit of others.

God has so much in store for each of us. For as we read in 1Corinthians 2:9 eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Life happens. We have all had experiences that may have ended with not so favorable outcomes. Some of us have had more of these experiences than others. What each of us has in common is the option of how we choose to react to our experiences. We all have a choice. We can let life get the best of us, or we can make the best out of life.

I’m sure you have heard stories of people who have overcome unsurmountable odds to achieve greatness. Perhaps you yourself know someone that you thought had great potential that never appeared to have reached their full potential. Maybe you have not yet reached your full potential. It’s not too late.

What’s preventing you from reaching your full potential? Are you letting your past failures or someone else’s recent successes hinder you from moving forward? You are the only one that can prevent you from doing what only you can do. Don’t settle for less. You are amazing.