I really want His best for you. I would love to hear your story someday, as much or as little as you wanted to share. Your story would be safe with me. But God already knows it all, even the parts you don't know yourself, the parts you've forgotten or misunderstood or buried or have no chance of fully understanding. He even knows the secret shameful parts that you've tried so hard to hide.
He so very much wants you to be with Him through eternity that He arranged for mercy and grace to cover who and what you've been and still are. When you walk in His forgiveness and the personal transformation made possible through Jesus' death, resurrection, and Lordship over your life, His plan takes it all into account, and in His economy none of it goes to waste.
He didn't make the bad things happen, but even the parts of your story that have wounded and shamed you will somehow be used by Him for good. I don't come close to understanding all of that or how it all works, but I believe with all of my heart that it's true.
It's what I call the Joseph Principle* all over again, only now it's "the {Your Name Goes Here} Principle." Go ahead, say it, say it out loud with your name in it: "The {Your Name} Principle." Now, if only you believed it enough to walk in the freedom it brings.
It's what I call the Joseph Principle* all over again, only now it's "the {Your Name Goes Here} Principle." Go ahead, say it, say it out loud with your name in it: "The {Your Name} Principle." Now, if only you believed it enough to walk in the freedom it brings.
True Follower of Jesus, He wants you to understand that He is transforming you into your very own, customized, totally unique version of the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
Each one of His children is individually and uniquely destined to touch His heart in a way that no one else before or after will do. Imagine a customized key being made to unlock a customized place in His heart. It's a place made just for you and you are being turned into a perfect fit for it. In that place, He will reveal the fullness of His love to you.
He says, "You can trust Me. It's safe to trust Me. So go ahead, decide to do it. Trust Me completely. I know what I'm doing and I know where we're going."
At some point in your life, your dreams for yourself will be crushed and broken. In spite of that, His dreams for you will remain intact. Trust Him. It's the wisest, smartest, safest thing you can do. Trust His love for you. He is fully able and oh so willing to take you deeper into the dreams that occupy His heart. It's a special romance that you'll find nowhere else.
Trust that His plans are really, really good. You can't know them now in any kind of detail anyway, so just trust His heart. He knows what He's doing and He alone can work the impossible. That is a true and trustworthy statement. It's an absolute fact.
We talk about your story, my story, or someone else's story. But in reality, this is His story, not yours, not mine, not anyone's but His. We are not our own, but we are beloved characters in His story.
In His wonderful dreams that only He fully knows, His heart gets to express and indulge the love that is in it. In His story, He is finding more outlets for His love and finding more of His creation to love Him back, all in ways that make His heart sing. Oh, such songs He sings, songs of infinite depth and unimaginable meaning that will only get better throughout eternity!
May He indulge His extravagant heart in you for His sake and for yours. That's what He wants to do.
I hope I said all of that right, that it all make sense, and that it encourages you in your journey. Because that's what this is, a journey. It's the most incredible of all possible journeys, the most incredible of all possible adventures. I'm excited about your journey because I've glimpsed the One who is taking you on it, taking you into His heart's special places.
Each one of His children is individually and uniquely destined to touch His heart in a way that no one else before or after will do. Imagine a customized key being made to unlock a customized place in His heart. It's a place made just for you and you are being turned into a perfect fit for it. In that place, He will reveal the fullness of His love to you.
He says, "You can trust Me. It's safe to trust Me. So go ahead, decide to do it. Trust Me completely. I know what I'm doing and I know where we're going."
At some point in your life, your dreams for yourself will be crushed and broken. In spite of that, His dreams for you will remain intact. Trust Him. It's the wisest, smartest, safest thing you can do. Trust His love for you. He is fully able and oh so willing to take you deeper into the dreams that occupy His heart. It's a special romance that you'll find nowhere else.
Trust that His plans are really, really good. You can't know them now in any kind of detail anyway, so just trust His heart. He knows what He's doing and He alone can work the impossible. That is a true and trustworthy statement. It's an absolute fact.
We talk about your story, my story, or someone else's story. But in reality, this is His story, not yours, not mine, not anyone's but His. We are not our own, but we are beloved characters in His story.
In His wonderful dreams that only He fully knows, His heart gets to express and indulge the love that is in it. In His story, He is finding more outlets for His love and finding more of His creation to love Him back, all in ways that make His heart sing. Oh, such songs He sings, songs of infinite depth and unimaginable meaning that will only get better throughout eternity!
May He indulge His extravagant heart in you for His sake and for yours. That's what He wants to do.
I hope I said all of that right, that it all make sense, and that it encourages you in your journey. Because that's what this is, a journey. It's the most incredible of all possible journeys, the most incredible of all possible adventures. I'm excited about your journey because I've glimpsed the One who is taking you on it, taking you into His heart's special places.
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* The Joseph Principle is summarized in Genesis 50:20. "...you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good...". It's the Old Testament reflection of the principle described again in Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."
For more on this, see the Posts titled No Matter What, I Win (February, 2015) and This is His Story, We Are His Song (April, 2015).
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