Ready "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."
-Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
Set A remarkable African American track and field athlete, Jesse Owens, overcame many difficult obstacles throughout his life in order to achieve all that he did. After a poor childhood and living during a time in which blacks received little respect, he persevered as he developed the talent that God gave him. Owens competed in the "Hitler Olympics," the Olympics in which Hitler planned on proving that the Aryan race was superior. However, after Jesse Owens became the first American to win four gold medals in a single Olympics, even German fans were complimenting his accomplishment. Because Jesse Owens was faced with challenges in his life, he became a great success.
Often in our lives, when we hit those difficult situations, it becomes hard to trust God. However, no matter how tough life gets, God never stops loving and caring for us. He works in mysterious ways. Sometimes He uses complicated circumstances to make us reach a more desirable end.
Someone once said that if you want to see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. In other words, we have to live through the hard times in order to find blessings. And it is primarily during those rainy days that we become stronger individuals. For God does not want to leave us stranded. He teaches us lessons and prepares us for every step of the journey. As humans, we are blinded by our desire for perfection, and we overlook God's hidden purpose. We need to constantly believe that God knows best, every time, all the time. Although we should be forming goals and preparing ourselves for the future, ultimately we must let God be in charge. Rather than worrying about forming our own path in life, we should strive to discover the path that God has already laid out for us. By trusting in His plan we can experience the comfort of dependence on God and feel His hand that gently directs us over hills and around unexpected turns, and leads us to our future with Him.
Go 1. Do difficult situations test your trust in God?
2. Are you too busy planning how you think your future should look to seek out what God already has planned for you?
3. Do you have faith in God's will for your life?