Posted by: Anna Abby already started on this topic. But as I mentioned on a Facebook post, it turns out I was actually planning on writing on it, too! And it sounds like she might write on it again after me, too. So between the two of us, hopefully we can get it covered. :) Alright, how about some stats? We have us roughly 7,405,126,000 people on this earth today. In just the U.S., 323,332,016. That's a lot of people. And what are the odds of you? I just googled 'what are the chances of me'. One website goes step by step in pointing out how unlikely it is that my mom met my dad, that they married, that they had kids, that I was one of those kids. Then how unlikely it is that all of my ancestors lived to marrying and having kids, and that they had the kids they did, so forth and onward. I couldn't even follow all the math. But by the end, I think the chances of me existing were a 1 in 10^2,685,000 chance. That's quite the number. Really, think about it. What are the chances of you? Of you with your smile, your voice, with your likes and dislikes, with your hair, with your interests? Now let's take it further. What are the chances of you here? So you've defied the odds and have come into existence. But what are the chances that you would have the family you do? That it would be your parents that have you, and your siblings? What are the chances you would live where you do? That you know the people you know? Here's a wild thought for you. Seriously, think about this. Every person you know? Every friend, every relative, every acquaintance? You don't have to know them. You could have had an entirely different crop of family and friends. So why is it that they're the ones you got? Or why are you the one they got? No, it's not bad luck, good luck, or random happenstance. It was planned. Let that sink in. You don't have Cousin George, Aunt Berta, and Grandma Margaret out of complete random chance, or Friend Joe, Billy, and Bob. No. I believe God puts people in your life for a reason. Perhaps, that reason is for them to influence and encourage you. Or, for you to influence and encourage them. Think about this. So all the famous Bible characters? Who seemed to 'have it together', and that God used in awesome ways? Moses, Paul, Peter, David, Esther, etc.? God could have put one of them in your place. He could have put someone with top-notch speaking skills, with courage and strength, with good looks or with multiple talents, in your place. Instead of making you, He could have made someone else. As in: God didn't have to choose you! He could have made anyone. He could have given them any personality, any looks, any skills, any downfalls. But He didn't just make anyone. He made you. He chose to make you. Do you get how amazing that is??? And what it means? Here's what it means. You are part of God's perfect plan. It's not like He just ends up with a random set of people each generation. "Well, I guess this as good as I'm gonna get. What can I do with these. . . at-hem. . . helpless little people strutting about down there?" No! It doesn't work like that! He designs, creates, each and every one of us. Which means He decides what we'll be like, and where we'll be, with who. Which then means He chooses each of those little details for a reason. Because? You are part of His plan! I am part of His plan! Abby is part of His plan! Your family is part of His plan, your friends are part of it, every single person is someone God chose to make. And, God put you where you are for a reason. He must have plans for you right here. Even if those plans are for you to be motivated to go somewhere else, it's part of the plan. The aspect of this that I got from TeenPact was that that week? It would never happen again. Going back and back and back through all eternity, before the creation of the world, you wouldn't find it. Going forward and forward and forward for all eternity, to wherever that finds us, you wouldn't find it. That little four day period, even in the broad expanse of eternity, was unique. The people there, the experiences had, the opportunities given, the relationships made, the growth achieved- none of it would ever quite be the same again. There will be other TeenPact state classes. Abby is at hers right now. But none of them would ever be just like mine. I would never be at a TeenPact event, with all the exact same people, learning all the same things, growing in all the same ways, ever again. We are all planned. Everything is planned. I said in my last post that the way God works is a mystery. Well, this is certainly one of those mysteries! That an all-sovereign God, with the ability to make as mighty or as great of people as He chose, would instead choose to make me. Me in all my shortcomings, in all my failings. And in all my potential, and all my goodness. Everything about me, and everything about you, both good and bad, is what God has chosen. We are His tools. We are the tools He's chosen. For whatever He's going to do in this generation, in the twenty-first century, in our lifetimes- we are the people He has chosen to do it with. So never feel like you are worthless. Like God could never use you. Like He never would use you. Because the God of the universe? The Creator of the world? The one and only Redeemer? The King of Kings? The Great I AM? Your Savior? He chose you. "My grace is sufficient in you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." ~2 Corinthians 12:9
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Posted by: Abby
This is going to be a rather short post, but the content is potent, and uplifting. I hope you enjoy. Have you ever stopped to think about how incredible it is that God created you? I mean really, out of all the possible choices and alternatives, you were the one who was chosen to exist, and who has a plan in store for your life. Pretty crazy, right. If you want to see the staggering odds of your existence, then just google it. There are some pretty crazy articles out there. So God planned you, and you are sitting here today, despite the odds. Posted by: Anna I recently got home from an amazing week at our TeenPact State Class. This was my third, and final, time attending as a student. (I plan to apply for staff) I could easily just keep going to state classes every year for all my teen years. It's the type of thing you don't get bored of! At least I don't. Every year has held something different. The same activities, even a lot of the same people. Yet, each time, something new, unique, and powerful. And that's what I want to talk about. How God uses things, how He works. There was a time where I was struggling in my faith, because I felt like God was not present in my life. That I was believing in something with very little first-hand proof. As in, sure, the Bible gives us proof. My pastor has given me proof. Other people have stories of proof. But me? God has never spoken to me. He has never shown me His plan, His path for me. I have never witnessed our idea of a miracle. I have never seen God at work. Ha. How untrue it is! I just gave four examples of how I haven't 'experienced' or 'seen' God. But now I realize, I have in fact had all four. And I'll bet you have, too. You just might not realize it. You see, God works in mysterious ways, or ways we don't understand. But beautiful ways. As a human, there are certainly times I wish He would just appear to me, physically, so I would know He was there. Or that I would hear His voice, literally. Or that He would work and perform in more obvious ways. Yet He doesn't. He does work. He does perform. But sometimes, a lot of the times, it's easy to miss; if you aren't paying attention. Thankfully, God eventually gave up on me figuring it out myself and did show me some of the ways He has been working in my life. Yes, in my insignificant, inconsequential life. Let's look at each of those questions, and I'll tell you how He has, in fact, done those things in my life. "God has never spoken to me." It wasn't so long ago that I was discouraged and doubting, as I heard all these awesome stories of God literally speaking to someone. He had never spoken to me! What was I doing wrong? What was I missing? He was speaking. I just wasn't listening. Ever been struck suddenly and powerfully by a verse that, last week, didn't really mean anything to you? Ever been listening to someone talk about something and randomly been caught off guard by one of their comments, which perhaps pointed you to a fault in your personal life or offered encouragement without even meaning to? Ever been doubting or questioning a certain issue, only to go to church and have the pastor speak on that exact thing? I have. A lot. And you know what? That is God speaking. So He's never said: "Anna, hey, stop that." or "Really, Anna?" or "Wow. Just wow." (If He did say those things, I would be hearing them a lot) And He's never told me to arise, leave my belongings, and follow Him. Not in the technical sense, anyway. But has He told me things before? You betchya. I'm sure there's been at least a dozen, probably more, times where our pastor's sermon has been pretty much spot-on to something I've been struggling with. Or, has called me out on something I've been doing wrong. Or has offered the encouragement I needed. And that's just one way. If you ignore things like that, stubbornly clinging to the idea that God should verbally speak to you from His own mouth--or at least through an angel or something--or it won't 'count', then guess what! You ain't gonna be hearing from God! Now I'm not saying that God doesn't speak to people that way. Otherwise I'd be going against a lot of the Bible. However. I am saying that God very well may choose not to speak to you and me that way. Why? I don't know. He's God, not me. We can't always understand His ways. But we should remember that He might be using it to grow us. To test us. To increase our faith. "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2 "He has never shown me His plan, His path for me." Now I'm still working out the kinks on this one. Because you know what. . . I don't know God's plan for my life! And considering I'm fifteen, I think that's okay. But it would be wrong for me to say that God hasn't guided me, or that He hasn't given me glimpses of His plan. Really, though, God has been showing me that I don't need to know the plan. Don't know about you, but I'm a planner. I make lists of things I need to do, need to pack, need to remember. I write things down on a calendar. I ask my mom in advance what we're doing tomorrow, what we're having for dinner, when Dad is getting home. I like to know what's going on. (Which is ironic, since I'm known as the clueless, space-cadet of the family that is always in other worlds--in the world of my books, truth be told--so doesn't know what's happening.) I'm the same way with the extended future. I have made a lot of plans. I have determined that I'm going to be a vet. Then I've determined that I'm going to be a stay-at-home homeschool mom. Then I've determined that I'm not going to get married, so I'm going to get a well-paying job. (That was a weird phase) Then I determined I'd get married or not, whatever God decided (see, we're getting there), but at the same time I was quite resolute that I would be an author, a gerbil-breeder, and if possible, live on a ranch with a bunch of horses and corgis. (I can't claim to be overly realistic) Isn't it funny, how we do that? I've been praying quite frequently for some time now that God would show me His plan. Within a couple hours, however, I'd be making my own plans. Or, I'd be saying "You know what, I bet God is going to use me through writing. I'll be a Christian writer. Yep, that's it." I know that one thing I have always done is tell God what His plans weren't, in an innocent, goody-goody way, of course. "God doesn't want me to be a missionary. Otherwise He would have made me like travel, and be okay with bugs, and like kids, and not mind camping-type stuff. God isn't going to make me a public speaker. Otherwise He. . . well. . . yeah." I still think those things. I tell myself not to, but I do. I don't want to be a missionary. I don't want to be a public speaker. But the fact is- maybe that is God's plan for me. What do I know? I got a little off track there. The point is! No, God isn't tell me what His plan is right now. Instead, He's teaching me to trust. To be content. To peacefully wait on Him, realizing that He's in control and He knows what's best. Is that what He's teaching you? "I have never witnessed our idea of a miracle." I shouldn't really need to explain this one. I'm guessing you have heard by now that miracles aren't just water into wine, giving sight to the blind, feeding the five thousand with a couple loaves of bread. In fact, your life is a miracle. Maybe this very day is your own mini-miracle. Not buying it? Alright. Have you ever seen someone accept Christ? Miracle. Have you ever been steered away from a bad situation by random, seemingly meaningless circumstances? Miracle. Have you ever seen God touch a hardened heart? Miracle. Have you ever seen a baby born? Miracle. But even that isn't the 'limits' of what a miracle can be! In my life, miracles have been as simple as when God used a beautiful sunset to remind me that He was there. Or when He took the worry, regret, guilt, and discouragement I was feeling, and replaced it with love and peace. Or when, for the first time, I fully and truly understood that He was with me- because I really felt Him. I have witnessed plenty of miracles. "I have never seen God at work." Oh, that's a good one! The most laughable of them all, really. God is at work every day. Not just at work, but at work in my life every day. At work in your life every day. This post would get pretty long if I tried to list even half of the ways God has been working in my life as of late. So I'll just share a few. TeenPact, for one! You know how I said that each time is different? Each class holds something new and special from the last? That's because God has used each on in a different way to work in my life. Yep. Each of the three years, I have gotten something different out of the week- and the something just so happened to be exactly what I needed. How about a more specific example, also pertaining to TeenPact. So, last year, leading up to TeenPact Survival. (me and Abby both posted about it last September, I think) I was kind of lonely. Just kind of feeling like I didn't have many friends, at least not many that I really knew and got along with. Abby, of course. I am ever grateful for her friendship! :) Still, I did feel that way. And you know what 'happened to be' the best part of that week at Survival? The friends I made! I was on an amazing team, the Woodland Multi-Tools. Every one of my teammates was a blessing to me, and became a good friend. We still email each other. They're still a blessing, still good friends. Or how about just the overall growth I've experienced in the last 3-4 years? That the good days, God used to encourage me. The bad days, He used to grow my trust in Him. The boring, 'meaningless' days, He used to test me, teach me patience, peace, and contentment. How He used every event, every sermon, every circumstance, to, in the end, bring me closer to Him. Does it sound far fetched to you? It's not. I wish I could explain it better, and that I could get more specific in my examples. But the fact is- He is using ALL for our good. He is using all to mold us, shape us, grow us. So next time you're tempted to doubt, because 'God has never spoken to you.' Remember how your pastor happened to give a sermon on something you'd been struggling with recently, or how that verse randomly means a whole lot more to you. Next time you're tempted to make your own plans, because 'God isn't doing it'. Remember that He is in control, and knows what's best. Remember that whether or not He's showing it to you now, He does have a plan for you. Next time you're tempted to think God isn't working in your life. Remember how things have fallen into place, resulting in something you never expected. Or how just when you needed some help, someone entered your life that became a friend and confident. Or how that terrible experience made you stronger, taught you something, and increased your faith. Because God might not always speak to us in the thundering or gentle voice. He might not always shower manna down from heaven. He might not always lay out the right path for you to see, nice and simple. He might not always make it clear just what He's up to. But He is speaking to you. He is performing miracles in your life. He is guiding you on the perfect path for your life. He is working. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good. |
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