The college ministry at my church (www.rcikynetic.com) met tonight and the topic of discussion is still heavy on my mind. We talked about being content where you are in life but still desiring to move forward – just being happy with your present situation. I’m reminded of a song by Mainstay called “Become Who You Are.” To me, the song talks about letting each experience we go through help shape us into who God wants us to be. I think we should try to glean at least one thing from every trial we endure or else we went through it for nothing – there was no benefit so it was a waste of time and a needless emotional struggle. Lots of good points were brought up in our talk but I think the main point was to trust God, even though we may be frustrated with our circumstances and not understand all the ‘why’s’. We have to rest in the knowledge that God is able to see the big picture while we can only see a small part. It all goes back to Jeremiah 29:11: “I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for” (Message).
I like that translation of Jeremiah 29:11 - especially the part about "the future you hope for". I know that nothing with God is anything less than great (see the latter part of James 1), but there's just something about Him giving me the future that I hope for. Not just any future, or only some future other than what I look forward to -- but the achievements of the desires that I have on the inside of me, in a God-creative kind of way. That's incredibly comforting to me, and really helps me to look past the "why"s and the right now circumstances.
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