Part X - What about free will? ☝☝☝

When the bible mentions that God has a plan for our lives I believe his plans are to love us, to prosper us, to give us a future and hope.  His plans for us circle around our commission: to spread love, kindness, and the hope we receive into this world (based on what I've experienced I believe there's no more perfect love than the one God displays).

I strongly believe that we are born in our surroundings, to the parents he chose for us, with the siblings he chose for us, with the gifts, talents, and abilities he gave us with a specific purpose in mind.  Because of our passions and vocations we will walk exactly where we are meant to be. What happens in our journey is completely up to us. We all have an inborn need to look beyond the day to day. We ALL have a need to "soul-search" and this is because we were created to direct our lives to specific places and to be surrounded by specific people for a specific reason. What happens in between is up to us… we can either walk away from the meaning of our life or we can lean in closer to God and ask for His direction so we can understand what the purpose of our life is.

We all have a purpose, no matter the circumstances in which we were born or where we find ourselves today, I promise you, there is a purpose for it all. The tattoo in my arm, Jeremiah 29:11 reminds me of this daily and it has become and anchor for my life. When we try to walk closer to God and when we ask Him to help us walk in His ways, His promise is direction to a place of prosperity. Real prosperity and success have been boxed in by the superficial wants of society. There is far more beyond to these: being successful and prosperous is being able to have a well balanced life, a life that inspires others to be better, a life that leaves footprints wherever we go… it is the kind of life that encourages others to live the same way and to live a full life; the kind of life that will live on forever even when we are no longer here, IT IS OUR LEGACY! In essence, someone's life should not be the same after being around a successful and prosperous person. We have access to God through Jesus, if we see Jesus we see God and we are able to enjoy all of His wisdom, which is far more infinite than our own so that as we are trying to walk in our shoes daily we know that we can find wisdom to do the right thing even if lines get blurry and roads become dark. He can truly be the light of wisdom and direction if we let Him be. 

In addition, God DOES allow us free will to learn more about who we are and who He is... to show us where our limitations are and where he can help us (for our better) to reach our potential… His promise is also that he transforms all things for our good, whether calamities or consequences of our own mistakes.  Imagine what this world would be like if the majority of us had the capacity to love openly and if we knew how to use our pain to bring forth growth and strength,  and with our true potential and prosperity reached?

This brings me to what I briefly touched upon on the previous blog. We live in a world full of beauty and wonder; but this world also brings disease, pain, hurt, chaos, and conflicting enigmas. We all have endured pain one way or another, we all have felt let down and we all looked to Heaven and said "Where were you God when?..." Knowing God through Jesus does not mean that we are exempt from the unfortunate events that living in this world entails. I look forward to Heaven because we will never ever go through hardship again. However, while we are here, one day or another something hurtful will happen… it is part of living. However, we are not alone as we walk through the fire. Not only are we not alone but we can have true confidence that everything or everyone we have lost, any pain or suffering we have encountered will all be used to make us stronger, courageous, and wiser. There is something else… the pain we feel is not for us to bear alone, we do not have to carry that cross, I will explain in my next post why (I do not want to make this one lengthier =))

In conclusion, At the end of the day WE DO have free will... We decide what we do with our lives and with the gifts He has given us and we are the ones who decide whether we want to look for His wisdom and direction or not. Look whether there's more to this plan or not... Whether I ended up with His "original plan" or not I do not know... But I think of this as a minute detail compared to the gift of experiencing true peace, love, freedom, and hope... What else do I want? Perhaps this is "the plan" that we live these wonders on earth and that we help others reach this understanding as well... Assuming other attitudes or thoughts means we are putting God in a box and our thoughts are blocking the richness of who He is and His love. Why continue wasting energy and mental space in understanding this theory when we can enjoy a rich and fulfilling life? Walking in God's ways is about being open minded to visualize things from another perspective, being creative like a child to reach out for His love, and about not being hung up in the minute details. 

Today, I invite you to enjoy this kind of life. Reach for the stars. Find your potential and be prosperous. Change the world around. Create your legacy! The sky IS the limit. Break out of the mold!

Love,

Deeaniss_m

"We will be known FOREVER by the tracks we leave" - Dakota Indian Proverb