Totally backwards.... But Why?

I was talking to friend today, and it was about this quote... 

   I started laughing about it when I read it. All I could picture was me being the passenger on the train. I pictured me... Throwing away the ticket and jumping off the train when it just went through a dark tunnel.

How silly is that?

   ---

   In a couple weeks, I will be headed to the unknown lands of Ecuador to minister to some of the people there. I will be with a team of eight other people...

  We will be flying there. We trust the pilot to get us to our destination safely. Why?

  The pilot is a human just like we are. We fail. The pilot can fail. He can make a mistake in flying...
Yet, we trust the pilot...

   How come then, we can't trust God like that? God loves us. The pilot doesn't really care about us. God knows us. The pilot doesn't. God has an amazing plan and NEVER makes mistakes in his planning. The pilot of the plane can.

   Does that seem odd to anyone else besides me?

  We can put our faith and trust into people... Perfect strangers... Yet, how come we struggle with putting that same faith and trust into God?

   God never makes a mistake in his plans for us. Every plan is different and flawless. If we put the same faith and trust into him as we do into perfect strangers (like the Pilot), imagine how different our lives would look.

   Doesn't that seem backwards?
 
   Shouldn't we be more afraid of perfect strangers that we are trusting than we should be of God?

   It is backwards. It never will make sense until we get to heaven. But, I do know this. Even though we fail every day at trusting God with something in our lives, God is always there when we need him. He still loves us, and he still offers us the free, undeserved, amazing grace...

   Some encouragement today:
   Accept God's outstretched hand. Have peace in knowing that God's grace is enough. Know that you are not a failure. God still has an amazing plan for you!! Even though his plans may seem to go against everything you've learned or your way of life.... Go for it! It is the best.

A daily reminder

How many times a day are you afraid?

If you're anything like me, a lot. I'm afraid of losing my reputation, failing... I'm afraid of losing a friend or a family member. I'm afraid.

One thing that I think is pretty cool is the number of times that the words, "Do not fear" and "Do not worry"
were each said during the Bible. Both phrases were said 365 times apiece.

That's a daily reminder. Three-hundred sixty five days in a year and each day you have that daily reminder.
Is that not cool?

~

Have faith.

Faith is believing in the unseen. 
When we have faith in God, we are believing in him and have faith that he will take care of us. 

Because we believe this and know that it is true, we can fully depend on God.

Even though we constantly fight his amazing love and outstretched hand to help, he is always there... He's there, waiting. Waiting for us to realize that we don't have to fear about the future, or worry about today.

Just live in the moment.

Have peace in God. Let yourself rest in his unending, overflowing, amazing grace and love.

Know that it will be okay.

Your God is the God who created the universe. He made every star and knows each one by name.
He knows you, inside and out. He knows your heart. He knows what will happened in the future, and he also knows that it is a good plan just perfect for you.

I'm not perfect. In fact, most of the time I feel like I fail at anything and everything.
But, then I am reminded by a friend or through the Word of God, that I am valuable. I am not a failure.
I am loved. I am created for an amazing purpose.

I'm on a mission from God. 

Do I know what that mission is? No.

But, I do know that if I follow him, listening to his guidance, that I will end up where he wants me to be.

I shouldn't fear the future. I shouldn't worry about today or tomorrow. What I should do is this: Trust God in any and every circumstance. Love him and love others as he loves me.

I know that God's plan is best, but that doesn't mean I'll always trust him.

Sometimes I wander and think I can do it on my own... But, after awhile I realize that it isn't working.
I need God in my life. I need him to guide me.

We're all humans... Which means, even though we know what we should do, we won't always do it.
Even though it is proven to us over and over again that we can't do things without God, we still wander away from him.

It's okay.

God will always be there for you. He loves you. He wants to change you, and in that, let you see how he works in the lives of those around you.

Two daily reminders for your life today are these:
1. Don't worry about anything, instead PRAY about everything.
2. Don't fear today or tomorrow or the future. God has complete control.

And you know what? Those promises from God are still true this afternoon, tomorrow, next week, and forever....