What would you doooooo?

Recently my daughter placed the title of today's post as her status on Facebook.  Of course she was reiterating the phrase for the Klondike bar.  But today, I would rather focus on:

What would you do for the glory of God?

Jeremiah 29:11 says "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." (NIV).

Think about it for a moment.

• God knows the plans he has for you.  Notice that this is a strong statement of fact.  HE knows the plans he has for you.  He laid those plans out before you were born.  His plan is perfect and unyeilding.  His plan is masterful.  His plan is unique.  Unique to you.  Think about the different people you encounter in the bible: Moses, , Benaiah, David, Jonah, Elijah, Peter, Mary, Sarah, Ruth...the list goes on.  Plans of God in action.

• He plans to prosper you. What do you think this means?  Does this mean that God wants to make you wealthy?  Give you riches beyond your wildest imagination?  YES - it just may not be in the materialistic ways of the society that you live in.  Keeping up with the Jones' is not being prosperous.  For example, God granted me favor when I accepted him.  He pulled me out of my dispair.  He gave me a wonderful life, with wonderful friends, with a wonderful family.  He gave me health.  He gave me a heart.  I have prospered, but only through God.

• He does not have plans to harm you.  God is a God of love.  His love is so infinite and so much greater than our love for him. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (NIV).  How many of us could or would do that?  I can not even imagine the love for us that God has.  To give his one and only to save a man like me.  Have you ever tried to wrap your head around the pain and suffering that God endured as Jesus hung on that cross?  Have you ever imagined the tears shed?  My wife and I cry every time we watch a video about soldiers returning home.  Why are we crying, our son is only 3.  We cry because we can picture our son following in his fathers footsteps in a world that is much more dangerous than when I did it.  We cry because we know that someone else's family is sacrificing now. 

• His plans give you hope. Although John 3:16 is perhaps one of the most quoted verses in the Bible, it is John 3:17 that gives the world hope.  John 3:17 "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (NIV)  Oh what a great and glorious gift given to us by our Abba Father. 

• His plans give you a future.  How many times do we think of the future?  When you think of it, what do you envision?  Is it your vision or is it God's?    Are the things you want to do, the things the enemy wants you to do, getting in the way of the future that God's plans have for you?  How do you know the difference?

There are some simple steps you can take to make sure that you are living the life that God has planned for you.

1. Immerse yourself in God's word.  Reading God's word really is the only way that you can begin to understand what God has in store for you.  Find a place to start.  Anywhere, it does not matter.  You can start with "In the beginning" (Gen 1:1), you can start with the book of Matthew.  You can start anywhere.  Just start.  Mark Hall, lead singer for Casting Crowns, quips at concerts that he started with the book of James because he has ADHD and it was short.  (James was recommended to me as well by a dear friend).  WHATEVER...JUST START.  The Holy Spirit will guide you.
2. Spend time in prayer.  How many times have you heard that one?  Pray.  Start a conversation with God.  He wants to talk to you.  He desires to be your sounding board, your advisor, your healer, your everything.  God is not an ATM of your desires.  He desires more.  He deserves more.  Set time aside every day to spend with him.  It does not matter how eloquent you are.  I listen to people flower up their language every day and actually say nothing.  Have a real conversation with God.  He can take whatever situation you are going through.
3. Wait for God to respond.  Often we jump the gun.  We work ahead.  We cheat.  We go on the path that we believe that God has for us.  And then when we get what we think we want, we forget about God.  We end up back at the beginning asking for God's help for a situation that we should not have walked into to begin with.  It is imperative to do it God's way and in God's time.  Listen to the Garth Brooks song "I thank God for unanswered prayers" and you will get a snapshot of what happens when you pray and you do not wait for God to respond.
4. Go for it when God does respond or command.  Too often in life, we get opportunities and we let them pass us by.  Either we are afraid or we are not truly paying attention in that moment.  We may be asleep.  (Reference point:  the other apostles except for Peter).  When God calls, we have to be ready.  If we have spent our time building a relationship with God, we will be aware of the command or sign that directs us to do more.
5. Give Thanks.  God blesses us each and every day.  Every breath we take, every sunrise and sunset.  The new things your kids say, the new phrases.  The twinkle in your spouses eyes when she or he looks at you.  God's blessings are all around.

I leave you all with this quote from Mark Batterson: "Our destiny is determined by whether or not we seize the God-ordained opportunities presented to us."  I believe that many of you are faced with different opportunities each day to do something for the glory of God.

Will you seize the opportunity when it arises?  Will you follow God's command?

What WILL you do?

Blessings to each of you!!