Ever think, God has great things planned for certain people, and not for others? How about, doing great things for God is done in your life, and He’s finished using you? Think again…

Life’s choices; circumstances both good and bad; whether we choose to accept or reject those opportunities, they have a way of bringing us to where we are today. BUT, God also has a beautiful way of making miracles out of our mistakes, and showing us through His unconditional love, that failures are forgivable. God is a God of forgiveness, healing, restoration, comfort, peace, and joy!

In my study of Jonah, I’ve learned how very much God is a God of second chances. Jonah was swallowed up by a fish we’ll call, Grace.  God could have easily allowed Jonah to drown in the turbulent waters, but chose to give Jonah another chance, out of His divine love. Jonah might not have seen it that way at the time, but God has a way of creating interruptions, or as I like to call them, divine interventions that place us back in the path He designed for us from the beginning. I’d like to share a quote that Priscilla Shirer shares in the study that brings the message home. “God’s good at taking our messes, our leftovers, and doing something good with them. Parts of all our lives we’d just as soon forget, yet in the hands of a Master, our mess can become the greatest miracle of all. He has a way of chopping, dicing, and reconfiguring the parts that we thought was of no use. He’s got a knack for pouring on His Spirit and sprinkling on a bit of grace and mercy. Then, voila`! Fresh out of the oven of a trial or two [He knows exactly how long until we’re ready to come out of the oven] there’s something delicious from your life that you never thought possible.”

One venue God used to do an awesome work on my heart was, Mending the Soul. It has been almost 5 years since that time, but one thing He showed me was, the vision of how He sees me.  I challenge you ladies to write down on a note card or piece of paper, all the ways God sees you as. You might want to take some time in quietness, and listen to His voice as He speaks life and truth to your heart. I encourage you to save that and put it in a place where you won’t lose it (in your Bible, posted on a mirror, etc.), so you’ll be reminded daily of how God sees you, His cherished daughter, whom He created for His glory. “He loves you because you are His—in spite of what you have done or where you have been.” Isaiah 51:12 says, “I, I am he who comforts you.”

I believe God has called all of us ladies to do remarkable things for His glory!  If you look at women in the Bible, all of them had to overcome and conquer a challenge that seemed impossible for them. Esther received divine courage to go before the King to save her people; Rehab was given great bravery and boldness to take the risk of hiding Hebrew spies; Mary faced negativity from the people in her community who didn’t believe her, as she carried the Son of God in her womb; Dorcas was a leader in her community who most likely overcame a lot of adversity given the times in the early church and rampant persecution taking place; and Priscilla and Aquila (her husband) were ejected from Rome because they didn’t believe the same as the Romans did, moved to a new environment that was unfamiliar to them, started up a church in a polytheistic community, and even hosted Paul in their home at one time.

I want to encourage you today to be intentional about living the life God has given you, and pursue Him in everything you do. Try not to settle for mediocre, basic living, but strive to be all that God has destined you to be. He’s not finished using you yet! As Christians, we’re born to stand out above the others, and bring honor to God’s name. As you follow God’s direction for your life, be open to what He has for you, and see what extraordinary things God wants to do in and through you this 2012. As the Chris Tomlin song goes, “Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done.”

Points to Ponder

Have you ever been surprised by how God allowed good to come out of a time of rebellion in your life? What did God accomplish?

What challenge/obstacle are you facing, that God is desiring you to right now in your life? What would it require to be obedient to His call? How will you respond to His calling?

Is there something that you are holding onto with a death grip that God is wanting you to surrender to Him?

Is there anything holding up back from fully obeying God (unforgiveness, rage, habitual sin, selfishness)?

Verses of Victory

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

 “For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statures that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 30: 9b-10

“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalm 25:4-5

“Trust in the Lord, with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers and example in speech, in conduct, in live, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have…” 1 Timothy 4:12-14

“Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…” Philippians 1:27

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:15

“For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’” 2 Corinthians 6:16

Romans 12:1-2, 9-21

Proverbs 31: 10-31

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6