Being thankful when life doesn't work out as planned

Most people nowadays if you asked them would tell you exactly what they want to do in there lives and exactly what it'll take to get there. But what happens when God takes control and changed your life into a direction that wasn't in your step by step life plan, then what?  Then you walk it out and you thank God for whatever it is that you're doing because it's apart of his plan for your life. Even though where you might be right now might be a place you didn't want to be at in this point in your life, you have to understand that God knows every single thing about you and he knows where your life is right now and he knows where it's suppose to be going, and if that's all that you know you're more ahead than most people. Because most people when life doesn't work out exactly how they want it to, they blame God and they become angry at him and they stop depending on him. And that's one of the biggest mistakes that you can make is giving up on God and that you stop believing Jeremiah 29:11 that God has better plans for you than you have for yourself. Just let that sentence sink it, God has better, more successful, happier, and greater plans for you than you could have for yourself! So even your wildest dreams, Gods are ultimately bigger than that. And that God that has dreams that created this entire universe, he has plans for you. He has a will for your life, that if you follow where he wants you to go can make you the happiest that you could possibly be. But you've got to walk through life with God in order to get the reward that he wants to give you. And honestly that's not that hard, because I don't know how you would travel through life without God as your center and how you would ever be happy. And so when you want to take a left and God takes you to the right, thank him for his guiding and and where you're going in life and that where he is taking you is more than you could've ever imagined for yourself. Because God never said that traveling through this life with him would be easy, but he did say that it would be worth it and that it would give you a happiness and a peace that will last an eternity. And that should be the bottom line of what you want out of life. Being in Gods presence and doing his will, and just with that will give you a joy that you couldn't ever get anywhere else. 

When you only see one set of footprints

Like the poem that says when there is only one set of footprints that is when God has carried you. With having a relationship with God that you walk out everyday trying to be more and more like his son and to try little by little to change the people around you. But when the sunshine of that seems to dim, people feel well since I'm following God my life should be perfect and I shouldn't have any problems and when I do have problems it's because God left me and he doesn't love me anymore. There is nothing further from the truth then thinking that God has left you and that he could ever stop loving you, and when you have a day to day walk with God you're going to have some bumps in the road there's no doubt about that, but you also know who's directing your steps and that the God that sits in heaven is the God that knows every detail about your life, everything that's going to happen today will come to no surprise to God. Because he knows everything about your life, and like Jeremiah 29:11 says God has plans to prosper you and to give you a wonderful life! And not to harm you. 

       Ask this question to yourself, if God feels that you're so unimportant then why would he send his only son to earth to live a life here just to die for your sins? To me that seems that God cares a lot, because I don't know of anyone that would send there first born nevertheless there only son, to die. And so the next time you feel that God doesn't care about you and that God isn't directing your steps, think about that. Because the devil wants nothing more than for people to think that God doesn't care, because the devil is here on this earth to do three things and those three things are to kill, to steal, and to destroy. And the devil would love to see nothing more than a person trying to follow God but to just give up because they have one bad day. Because another way of looking at it, is I don't know anyone who has a rock solid relationship with God that didn't get that relationship by doing nothing, but that got it because they walked through the valleys of life and they walked through them with God and they made it to the other side, and that's what trusting God is all about, knowing that he loves you and that he has a plan for you that far exceeds your humanly expectations and that he sees everything and nothing comes to a surprise to him. And that he's waiting to comfort you and he's waiting to give you a peace that can only come through his presence, but you have to make that first move. Because the Holy Spirit can't make you do anything that you don't want to. And I can guarantee that if there's something that's going on in your life that if you would trust God through that valley, and walk through that with him. That you'll end up on the other side knowing without a doubt that God never once left you side. Because once you ask the Jesus into your heart, the Holy Spirit comes and he never leaves. And he's the ultimate comforter.   God loves you more than you could ever know and he's waiting at the door to comfort you and to give you the best life possible, but it's your job to open the door and receive it. 

Keying into Gods presence

I've heard the verse James 4:8, "When you draw close to God, God will draw close to you." But not until recently did I really come under the full understanding of what, in all it's depths what that verse is saying. It's saying that when you come to that point in your life when you're wanting more out of it than you're getting. That you want that happiness that only comes with being in the presence of the Holy Spirit and radiating that joy that can only come from serving the one true God. That when you get to that point, because God is always with you. When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, the Holy Spirit comes into your being and comes to guide you for all the days of your life, and when that happens God is always next to you and living life with you until the day that you die. And so when you gravitate yourself away from God, it's your doing, not his. And when you feel that distance between yourself and God, you need to know and take the responsibility to know that it's your doing and it's your responsibility to get back in track. And that's where James 4:8 comes in, that we've become aware of the distance what you must do is pull back to God. By reading his word, and reading the wisdom from others in the source of a devotional or book and prayer. And until recently I couldn't be a true advocate of saying that really works. Because until recently I never was genuinely wanting God and all his presence around me all of the time. But once I got down to the nitty gritty and was completely honest with myself, that's when I really started searching for God and all that he could offer. And I'm not saying read the bible once and pray a little prayer and you've got the presence of God for the rest of your life now. No, that's not at all it. Being a true follower of christ isn't an easy job and it isn't a job that takes vacation days. It's a 24/7 job that you never get a break from, and to be honest you should never want one! Because when you dedicate your life to serving God and to bringing more people into the kingdom of heaven, you realize that there isn't anywhere else you would rather be and that there isn't any other kind of thing on this entire earth that can bring you the happiness that being tuned into Gods presence can give. And so when you tune into Gods presence, you really get serious for God, you read his word daily, you're constantly in communication with him, and you surround yourself with people who want the same thing. It's hard not to see God working life changing miracles in your life. And serving a God like ours, there isn't anything more pleasing than serving him and his kingdom. Because it's knowing that he sent his only son, to this earth, to die!! He died. He came to this earth, just to die. For you, for your sins, for your mistakes, for the little secrets that no one knows about that keep you up at night. He came to kill all of those tactics that the devil uses to steal your happiness and your drive for following God away. Because when Jesus died, he covered his blood in every mistake, every sin, every little thing that you could've ever possibly done. So that you could follow God while heartedly and know without a shadow of a doubt that God had washed you white as snow and when you know that, it's like an infectious disease. That you can't help but spread because of how much that means to you! And that.. That is what having a genuine relationship with God looks like. 

When living by faith and not by sight turns out to be a harder path to walk down then you ever imagined.

 When life seems to be going easy and everything's falling into place, that's the easiest time to say that God is guiding the way. But what's said when you're at a cross roads and God has to guide the way. But hearing that voice of direction turns out to be more difficult then you expected. With me personally I feel that if God doesn't write in sharpie on my refrigerator white board then I'm completely lost and feel like he doesn't care. But with having a relationship with God it's more complex than that, God wants to talk to you and he wants to guide you. But sometimes as human beings we feel that the path we've chosen for ourselves is better than the path that God has chosen for us, and you might think that right now. But in the long run you will grow to realize that you made a bigger mistake than you ever imagined by using your own knowledge than Gods. Because at times when you come to a fork in the road, God wants you to stay in prayer and wait for him to guide you in the right direction. And I know what you're thinking right now, how can I just wait for God to tell me where to go? Well let me tell you how! You've got to stay in constant prayer about whatever situation it might be. It might be whether to move to a different town or it might be to end a relationship that you know deep down isn't a relationship from God or maybe it's changing schools, you feel that Gods leading you a different way than you're walking right now but you aren't positive. And whatever your situation might be, the accurate ways to walk it out with God stay the same. Because if you really are praying for Gods will and you really want to follow wherever he is leading,  he'll get you there. That's a no brainer, but how hard you tug and pull in the different direction is up to you. So when you're at a cross roads in your life, and you know that there's a way God wants you to go, but you aren't sure. Pray it out, involve other people to pray for you and with you. Because the bible says that when two or more come in agreement than he is there, and you want him there! Gloria copeland says this, "Gods directions come from Inside, not outside, of you. Tune into today to that inward witness, to that quiet knowing, that urging, prompting and leading arising within you."  And what she means, is that the Holy Spirit that is within you all the time, is the voice that is guiding you where God wants you to go. with that little inner voice is the Holy Spirit speaking to you through thoughts, that you might not know if that was a thought from God or if that was a thought from yourself, but that's when prayer comes in again. Thank God for going before you and working everything out that needs to be, so that when you know where he wants you to go, you can move forward with the battle already being fought and won by God. Because when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he won every future battle with his blood! God knew what he was doing when he sent his only son to die for us. Because Jesus went before us, covered our situation with the blood of the lamb, and conquered that situation by dying for us! And that's all that we need to know in these times of waiting, that Gods already been there and already knows what's going to happen, so stay in prayer and wait for that prompting, that pulling by the Holy Spirit to lead you where you need to be! Because if you wait on God long enough he will get you where he wants you to be.