“My life, I realized, had gone wrong.  Very, very wrong.  I wasn’t supposed to live like this.  No one was supposed to live like this.  The problem was that I simply didn’t know how to make it right.” – Gail Honeyman

“You are one decision away from a completely different life.” – Mel Robbins

How many of you tonight feel like Gail Honeyman?  Are you involved in something that seems impossible to fix?  Have you made bad choices – choices that have been so wrong for so long now that a thousand right ones just couldn’t erase the damage done by the few poor ones you’ve made?

Have the circumstances and situations that surround your life felt so overwhelming that you feel cursed by fate – destined to live a life you never wanted to live?  Are things spinning out of control to the point where uncertainty and doubt are a part of everyday life for you now?

If you feel this way my friend, you are just one decision or choice away from a completely different life as Mel Robbins suggests above.  That one important choice surrounds your perspective and belief system about God – who He is, how He acts, and the principles He stands for.

To Him Who is Able

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”  – Ephesians 3:20 NIV

Do you believe in a God who has the power to change things RIGHT NOW in your life?  Is your sickness beyond his reach or has your relationship become so broken that even he can’t piece it back together again?  Is he able to create and provide the resources you need?  Can he heal your troubled mind and bring peace back into your life again?

Yes, my friend, he is ABLE to do this and more!  Immeasurably more than ALL we could ask or imagine!  Do you believe His omnipotence is at work as you read this?

To Him Who is Able to Keep You from Stumbling

“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy…” – Jude 1:24 NIV

If you are like me my friend, life has been nothing short of a continuous free fall – tripping over failure after failure.  Many of the hardships I have faced have been self-imposed.

When I read this verse, I am reminded of our God – the loving Redeemer!  Not only can he keep us from stumbling, but he is also there to forgive us and renew us when we do!

If God is able to keep us from stumbling, then our failures are allowed by him – serving deeper, more meaningful purposes for us in the long run.  At times, we often forget that our free will is a limited one and that God is sovereign – allowing and dictating the situations that arise in our lives consistent with his created purpose for us.

Such peace in knowing that God is in the center of our mistakes and failures, helping us to learn and grow!

In Him and To Him are All Things

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”  – Romans 11:36 ESV

Meditate on this verse for a minute.  All things come from God, must pass through His sovereign will before they reach our lives, and return to Him fulfilling His purposes within them.

“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” – Isaiah 55:11 ESV

That impossible situation you face, the unbearable hardship, the family pressures or the devastating illness – God is centered right in the middle of them and the ultimate purposes they serve in your life.  We often forget that our God is a loving, merciful God who ALWAYS works within our lives for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).  To maintain this perspective as we go through difficult times brings with it peace and assurance.  God is ALWAYS up to something good!

In Him is Eternal Life

“Eternal life is in Him and this life gives light to all mankind.” – John 1:4 TLB 

No matter what we face here, because of Him, we have the hope of eternal life!  Any difficulty we encounter in the world is short-lived and temporal. 

I love how the Scriptures remind us that we are “a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes” (James 4:14) and that our humanity is “short and full of trouble”. (Job 14:1)

But we are far, far more than our humanity!  We are children of the Most High God and eternal life is our destiny 😊 Thanks be to Him, to our God who provides hope in the midst of hardship!

To Him be the Glory

“To Him be the glory to the ages!” – Romans 11:36 BLB

Praising God in the middle of hard times or difficult moments doesn’t come naturally to us, but this very act can change our paradigm on how we view our problems.  God is indeed greater than any of the issues we face!  The Scriptures encourage us to give thanks no matter what circumstances arise – knowing our God is in control of them all (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Psalm 145 exemplifies this point so well!  Take time to read it tonight and you will see how the psalmist focuses on God’s glory – giving Him the praise He deserves!

“He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him, He hears their cry and saves them.” – Psalm 145:19 NIV

That single decision that will take your life a totally different direction……well, my friend, it chooses to see “Him” for all He is!

 In our difficulties, He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ask or think. 

In our temptations and as we face the evil in this world, He is there to forgive and to keep us from stumbling.

Every problem or issues we face must go through Him first and serves His holy, loving, and merciful purposes for us and others.  Remember ALL THINGS are from Him!

Finally, in Him is eternal life!  What a wonderful thought as we face the temporal issues of this life of ours!  To Him, be all the glory and all the praise, my friend!

What would any of us have without Him?

God bless!