"Peace and Tranquility"

"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." (Psalms 139:13)

  If ever there were a picture of proof that God's hand is upon His chosen from the time of their being conceived, this is a masterpiece. The plot thickens as to how far will go to influence the life of those He has chosen. Yes we have a choice in what might happen, but to the choices put before us, those are all ordained by God! Do not get me wrong in this line of thought, because there are some that might interpret this in a totally obscure way; this is flat out God's way of guiding His children with the right choices. The devil will always give us the wrong choices; through temptation and placement, he will try to trap us into something that changes the work God might have done or is doing. But God will always provide us with the right choices, those things which lead us down the path that He has established for our lives. Much to our own dismay, we make wrong choices; but it is never something God has not already prepared for, or provided for it to be used in His perfect plan. If you doubt me, a simple study in the Book of Jonah should help you see how that works, because God's ways are not our ways; but that does not mean God cannot use our ways for His ways, not when it comes to getting things done. Pastor Jack shared his heart Sunday about what it is like to be called by God, taking us on a little journey, some of which were his wrong choices, and some of which were where God led him. But the bottom line, was that God's children are always led by God! He allows us to make our own choices, but He also makes sure the path we take will lead us back to Him. Don't try to figure out how He does it, just be thankful that He does and rejoice! This word, "tranquility," is sadly misused in so many different fashions; some of which make people assume that it is reserved for the mystic or for meditation. But this is more than that, this is the state of being calm, as in, not to worry about your life! My God has me in His hand, why do I need to worry! If I fail at this or that, He still has me! If I ruin this or that, He still has me! There is nothing that I can do that He already does not know of or has made a way for it to be used or changed into something else. It totally blows my mind how God uses our mistakes for opportunities to do something good. The little mistake that Abraham made with Hagar, produced a little opportunity for Ishmael's descendants to purchase Joseph from his brothers, and then take him to Egypt where he was sold to Potiphar. Just a little turn of events saved a whole lot of people...

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son." (Ephesians 1:3-6) NLT