Freedom in God's Will

Yesterday I started to grasp what freedom and God's will really mean. A lot of people debate over this, saying that God's will conflicts with personal freedom and the two can't truly coexist. Well, I was thinking today about how God's will plays out in each person's life. I'm not saying I completely understand it, but I think I may be beginning to get a better picture of how it works. Looking back on my life I can see God working towards where I am today. The big thing was thinking about how different people's lives intersect and influence one another. I believe God definately works through that. Why bad things happen also comes into play in these ideas running through my head. I'm thinking God's will works in people's lives in a complicated way. God has wonderful plans for his children but Satan wants to wreck those plans of a future and a hope. I don't think Satan is in the know when it comes to God's plan for each person. Therefore, Satan tries to generally wreck our lives. This explains stuff like shark attacks, tsunamis, and sexual violence. But God is always one step ahead of Satan. Just like in the Genesis story of Joseph and his jealous brothers, what mankind meant for evil, God meant for good. Basically I'm thinking that when Satan hurts us through the horrible things in life, whatever they may be, God takes what Satan meant for evil, and if the person is open and willing, God turns the intentioned evil into something amazing in our lives. A good example is Bethany Hamilton. Satan wanted to immobilize her walk with God and impact on the world. He thought having a shark bite off her left arm would do the trick. That makes sense because, for a lot of people, getting your arm bit off would turn you completely off God and send you into despair and hopelessness. Instead, Bethany was willing to trust God in his plan. God's plan was to turn what Satan tried to use to ruin her life into a HUGE blessing and inspiration to others. Bethany's encounter with that shark not only led to tremendous personal growth and growth in her relationship with God. It led to millions of people being touched by her story, people that wouldn't have been impacted if the attack had not happened. I'm one of those people impacted by her story. Satan tried to wreck my life with sexual abuse and rape. I've been trusting God in my healing and he's been turning what my brother meant for evil into more good than I can presently imagine. I've made progress through the years trying to heal, but I hit a huge breakthrough when I heard Bethany's story. When I watched the movie Soul Surfer it was like someone turned the light switch on in my head. It makes me wonder where I would be, and where a million other people would be, if Bethany hadn't shared her story or even been attacked by a shark in the first place. Satan tries to wreck individual lives but God can bless millions through one life. Sorry if this is hard to follow, but it's where I am and the thoughts in my head. Knowing that God's will is at work in my life frees me from anxiety and fear because I know that whatever God wills for me, he will give me the strength to go through it. No matter what happens, I'm secure in my faith in God's will and his ability to carry me through all things. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. In God's will, I have true freedom because I don't have to worry about not being able to do it. His strength is made perfect in my weakness. This is freedom from fear, shame, anxiety, pressure to excel and succeed. In God's will, I'm free to be my true self and not be ashamed of it or hide it. Once we stop trying to be excellent for God using only our own strength and start relying on him for strength and direction we are enabled to do truly great things. It reminds me of the song Firework. If we "succeed" using our own strength we might result in one firework in the night sky. If we trust God and, in his strength, follow his plan for us we'll light up the night sky with a grand finale.

By the way, my best friend also has a blog. You should read it, it is awesome! Find it at http://www.nerdycollegekid.blogspot.com/  Go Jancee!!!

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-Faith_inpresentdarkness