Plans to Prosper

I don't make or take bets. My faith has taught me one thing, which is that with God all things are possible. The questions about can He do something are quieted by the fact that I know He will follow through on every promise that He makes. When I get stuck in notions or thoughts about uncertainty about decisions I make I tend to take a lot of risks in hoping that everything will be okay. That is usually why most like the idea of betting or risking it all to hopefully achieve more than they originally had before. We always hope for the future and what we can have while completely losing out on what we have right here and now. The greatest loss we have is forgetting what is right now. Don't get me wrong it takes a huge amount of faith to see everything as possible, but all Christians need to understand and remember that God is for us, not against us. That certainty should be renewing for us. > What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? > Romans 8:31 ESV What makes it truly possible to believe is having an incredible God who has provided and protected me from day one. Who knows where I would be today if He hadn't been in my life. With Him He has shown me and let me experience so many things that have helped me solidify that He has always been by my side. > For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. > Psalms 139:13-14 ## The Past In late 2005, my grandfather passed away. At the time I wanted to run away from my faith and leave everything behind. However, God had other plans for me than being apart from Him. Within a few months I found myself taking on responsibilities and becoming more trusting about where He wanted me to go. The details aren't as important as the direction that He was pushing me, which was to be a leader. Back then God had already given me the abilities to challenge the norm around me and to find a better way of moving forward. There is never anything wrong with asking the questions about why we do things, but the moment someone tries to stop those questions from being asked is when you should pay closer attention. For about 3 years I grew into the leaderships roles I had taken on and attempted to encourage those around me to do the same. You're not truly a leader unless you can foster growth in those you lead. Even after stepping down from my leadership duties in the church, God started placing me in roles at work. Others still tell me often that they admire the roles I take on without being asked, but in the back of my mind I know that it is God who is doing those works in me. ## Live for God We don't always know what He has planned for us in our lives, but we can rest assured that His plans aren't meant to hurt us, but to prosper us. We tend to lose sight of the fact that we aren't meant to prosper on this earth, we are working towards eternity with our Lord. Now you have to ask yourself are you willing to go where He wants you or will you shrink back and hide. The story of Jonah comes to mind each time I think about what happens when we try to hide from God's plans. Despite how far we may try to run He will always find us and ultimately His plan will be fulfilled through us. It only goes to show that the grace and mercy that God displays is what He has always offered each of us after every mistake. He is always trying to help clean up our acts to live lives with Him and not against Him. A life of faith in those terms involves standing tall and with God. Wherever He stands we will prosper. So why would we want to stand apart from Him?