Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
Two weeks ago I awoke around 2:00 AM and heard the Lord speak two things to me. He said “I have a plan for your life and if you will follow Me in that plan I will take care of you” I understand this is not anything new, however, anytime the Holy Spirit illuminates something to us it can be very impacting. As He spoke I saw the road of my life ahead of me with many doors that I will have the opportunity to go through. I knew it was only the doors that He had ordained for me that I was to go through.
At the end of Paul’s life he said something that captures what the Lord spoke to me. Paul said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7 KJV. The King James Version of the Bible is the most true to the original Greek when it says “my course.” Our heavenly Father has laid out a very specific course for each one of us (Psalm 139:16). This course is not a confining narrow way, as religion would have us believe. The entrance is narrow and confining (Matthew 7:13), but once we are in, “We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand — out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.” Romans 5:2 the Message Bible. There is much room to navigate, explore and we have the freedom to make many choices as we go on this journey. It is God’s desire for us to enjoy the journey, however there will be times when we have fight to stay the course and it takes faith to do it.
I spent the earlier part of my Christian life with a vision and calling to become a pastor of a church. I had to fight a lot of different types of battles to see this calling realized and my faith was tried and stretched beyond measure and even more so once I began to walk out the calling. Looking back I know I did the right thing with my life. However, looking forward I have not been so sure about what God had for my life. In safe settings with close friends and associates I have opened up about those feelings, but it was only when I heard the Lord speak to me about my future that I began to become more at peace.
When He spoke to me I knew I had to make a decision. I knew in my heart I had to freshly surrender to the Lord’s plan for my life regardless of what it may be. I told Him something like this, “Lord whatever you have chosen for me to do the rest of my life, that is what I will do. I will not take my fate upon myself. I choose to trust You and follow your plan for my life”
The next morning I attended a pastor’s meeting and looking up on a wall directly in front of me was written this well quoted verse. “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. I knew the Lord was confirming He was indeed speaking to me. It does not matter how many times we read or hear a verse in the Bible, it is a special moment when the Lord speaks that verse directly to you. I believe if we willingly surrender our future to Him and His plans for us, even if we do not fully understand or even desire His plans, then He really will take care of us.
But that was not the only thing He said to me that night. After I had prayed my surrender prayer, He spoke to me again. He said, “I am going to give you a double portion.” That is how the Father desires to take care of us, by giving us all that He has (Luke 15:31).
Many Blessings, BW