So You're Here. Now What?

Hello to you from the other side of the New Year, 2016!  So, you made it!  Congratulations on crossing over!  Boy oh boy, what a ride it has been for you to get here, but thank God you made it.  Didn't think you would at times, huh?  I know the feeling....

Now that you're here, what are you going to do with it?  For many of you, 2015 didn't pan out to be the year that you thought it would be.  New Year resolutions came and went.  Commitments started, but not finished.  Life dealt blows you thought you wouldn't recover from, but you're here now.  So what are you going to do with it?  You've experienced high "highs" and low "lows".  You've been THROUGH gains and some losses.  You've witnessed and experienced love, joy, pain, miracles, deceit, answered prayers, delayed promises, mighty moves of God, peace, loneliness, new life, death, an infinite amount of chances, near death experiences, loss of jobs, financial hardships, turnarounds, abundance, lack, heartbreaks, sickness, healing, uncertainty, God confidence, fire and storms, and rainbows at the end of the rain....  But you're here now, so what are you going to do with it?

Some may call your year bipolar, but God calls it your "all things".  What do I mean by "all things"?

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

The Amplified version says it like this, "We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose."

Now, ask yourself these questions...

Do I love God?  If yes, go on to the next question below...

Have I been called out (from the world) by God?  If yes, go on to the next question below...

Have I experienced some of the highs and lows listed above?  If yes, read this next declarative statement aloud and carefully.....

IN 2015 I MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED SOME TURBULENCE, SOME UNEXPECTED SHAKING IN MY LIFE THAT LEFT ME CRYING OUT TO GOD --> "How am I going to make it out of this?!"  BUT I KNOW THAT GOD'S WORD IS TRUE IN MY LIFE!  I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE ALL THINGS, AND THOSE THINGS ARE PERFECTLY WORKING TOGETHER FOR MY GOOD.  IT DIDN'T ALWAYS FEEL GOOD, BUT GLORY TO GOD, IN THE END IT SHALL BE FOR MY GOOD.  I WILL PRESS ON, I WILL CONTINUE TO SAY HALLELUJAH ANYHOW BECAUSE I TRUST MY LIFE IN THE HANDS OF MY EVER EFFICIENT GOD.  HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING EVEN WHEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT ALL.....GOD KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. WHATEVER I'VE BEEN FIGHTING AGAINST, I RELEASE IT AND LET IT GO IN THE NAME OF JESUS.  WHATEVER/WHOEVER I'VE ALLOWED TO BE A HINDRANCE IN MY LIFE, I RELEASE IT/THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS.  TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AND I WILL MAKE EVERY SECOND COUNT.

I've purposely referenced "it" throughout this brief writing, but now let's plug and play.  The "it" is "your life".  You are not here by mistake.  There has not been an oversight....yes YOU are supposed to be here.  What are you going to do with your life?  Yes, man/woman has plans that we make for our own lives, and sometimes things go according to our plans, sometimes not.  But God says "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).  Your life is NOW.  You are not your past.  You take what you need to take from it, learn the lesson, and move on.  What's so remarkable about your making it is that you didn't quit!  When it was easier to give up, God gave you a 2nd wind, and you used that rejuvenation to push on through.  You're not lucky....you are blessed.  It was God's grace AND His awesome mercy that kept you alive...even when you were acting a fool (somebody insert a "hands raised" Amen here!).

If you've not yet given your life over to Christ, I strongly urge and plead with you to do that.  Life will come with its share of challenges, but nothing surpasses the peace of God, and without Christ in your life, you are left to deal with those challenges with no Advocate.  Confess your hope and belief in the one who died for your sins and gave His life that you might have life....and that more abundantly.  If you believe and confess that, you are saved!  Saved from Satan's plans prospering in your life....saved from eternal damnation and hell.  Give it to the Lord!  Whether you feel like you were #winning in 2015 or living the life of #TheStruggle, you're here now.  So, what are you going to do with it?

Be Fabulously Blessed!

-Tash