“Our souls are not designed for despair.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2006-11-14) from his book, Soul Cravings: An Exploration of the Human Spirit (p. 99). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Have you read the story in the gospels about where Jesus came to the grave of His friend Lazarus and saw the grieving of the people there and of how Jesus wept? We think it is because of His friend’s death but He a few moments later raised Lazarus from the grave. No that wasn’t it.

What it seems to be is that Jesus was feeling His love for these people and He saw their pain, their grief and that this wasn’t His plan. Death wasn’t His plan. He had a better plan but our representatives back there in the Garden muffed it up by disobedience and going against His plan for their own plan and death then came into existence. They were driven out of the Garden and could no longer eat from the Tree of Life. He had a better plan than this.

We were not designed for death. We were not designed for despair. He had a better plan but we chose to not live it. His plan was not for all of this evil in the world. His love had a better plan.

Now we do have the privilege to accept and live out His plan today. It says in John 3:16 that God so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus to die for us to pay for the way we muffed His plan up and that if we believe in Him, live for Him, accept Him then we will have everlasting life. That was His initial plan for us. We will die physically but we can live spiritually forever and we can live in fellowship with Him here. Even though we blew it we still can avail ourselves of His initial plan. We just need to believe in Him and follow Him and love Him.

In the Lord’s Prayer He says for us to pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." His will is not perfect here but it is there. But if we accept Him and believe in Him we can live out His plan for us here and then live forever there.

We were built for more than we have. Our souls were not designed for despair, we were built for hope. Let Him rekindle that hope within you and to live as you were created to live.

Are you open to that?

Comments

"Jesus comes in the midst of the torrent."

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, You Are Never Alone (p. 60). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) We all have storms in our lives, don't we? Max says, "No one gets through life scot-free. At one point or another the sky will darken, the winds will rage, and we will find ourselves in a modern-day version of the Galilean gusher." John 6:16–18 (NIV) says, "When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough." Max goes on, "The hearts of the followers began to sink as their boat was certain to do. Their skin was soaked, throats hoarse, eyes wide. They searched the sky for a break in the clouds. They gripped the boat for fear of the waves. They screamed their prayers for help. But they heard nothing. "If only Jesu

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because God is good He will use e

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Jesus did answer the question about the blind

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog