Several years ago the mother of a young woman who was killed almost two weeks ago gave me a verse that I love and recall so very often. It is Jeremiah 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 hope and a future."
Now this mother, a very strong Christian (the whole family is and the young woman was) must rely on that hope only found in Christ. This young woman touched so many lives as she witnessed to the truth of Jesus Christ and now through her death others have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
We never know what the next day will bring for us. It may bring joy, or it may bring sorrow in various forms. We may think that we have come to the end of our rope and that there is nowhere to turn. We may think that there are no options or answers, but there are ALWAYS options and answers with Christ. What we must remember though is that those options and answers don't always come to us right away. The hardest part is waiting on God, at least that has been one of the hardest lessons I have had to learn in the last several years. Though I have failed Him so many times, I do know that His timing and planning is perfect. He ALWAYS knows what is best in ALL circumstances even the hardest to understand such as taking a young life. And, I know and trust that He has a specific plan and purpose for each of our lives however long we live on this earth. I hope and pray that you have hope and see His magnificent hand working in your life as He works out His will for your life.
4 comments:
Her death has obviously hit you hard. I am sorry for your loss. Her story is compelling, but you should consider amending this sentence: "now through her death others have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior." In your praise of her faithful life, it reads too much like it was her own work. Maybe that's just a pet peeve of mine, having been rescued from the lies of the evangelical movement. As we both know, it was the Holy Spirit working through her that drew and will continue to draw others to Christ. Just my two cents...
Thank you for your kind words and insight TK! I am glad that you mentioned about it sounding like "her own work" because I certainly didn't mean it to sound like that. She was very humble as her family is and believed that everything that she did was through God's grace and not of her own merit.
It sounds like you and I maybe went through some similar circumstances because I too got caught up in those lies and am so very thankful to have been snatched "from that darkness and into His wonderful light"!
Thanks again for your comments! I will revise what I said so there are no misunderstandings! Blessings!
Well, I knew you didn't mean it that way, but just didn't want anyone else to read it that way. I'm a nitpicker and maybe that's a bad habit; I got it from hanging around the fundies too long. Wish I had been wiser when I was younger!
Thanks TK! I understood where you were coming from and that you didn't want anyone to misunderstand what I was "really" saying! I really appreciate that and welcome your input! No problem!
I too wish that I had been wiser when I was younger, but I am so thankful to where Christ has brought me and us! Through our experiences with the Contemporary Church Growth movement and my dabbling with the Charismatic movement, we have become more discerning! I still have a lot of learning to do though!
Thanks again! Blessings!
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