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    • Our plans vs. God’s plans

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on January 19, 2018

      Proverbs 19:3 (NLT) People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.

      Have you ever been mad at God? Something bad…really bad… happens and you decide to blame God. So you yell and scream at Him because you think He allowed the circumstance to happen.

      “How can you do this to me?!” You shout. “Don’t you care about me at all? How could you have let this happen?”

      I found myself screaming those very words at the top of my lungs when our expensive attempt at in-vitro fertilization (IVF) failed. The doctor said she had only seen one other case like mine in her entire career and because of the high probability of another failed attempt, the couple decided not to go through the procedure again.

      My husband and I wanted to have a family of our own. We had been through so many fertility procedures, and even had a child in our home through our city’s foster-adopt program only to come up empty. For me the IVF failure was the final straw and I blew up at God.

      I was mad and asked the question, “How could He have allowed all these things to happen?”

      What I didn’t realize at the time is this… God’s timing and plan for my life is perfect. Instead of seeking the Lord and trusting Him through the circumstance, I flew off the handle and got angry because things weren’t happening the way I thought they should have.

      Two weeks after the IVF failed, I received a phone call from a dear friend. It went something like this:

      “Remember Andi?”

      I thought for a moment. “I remember the name.”

      “Well, she’s pregnant and wants to give you the baby.”

      “What?” My heart raced as my head processed what my friend has just said.

      “The pregnancy was unplanned and she really doesn’t feel like she could provide for a child at this point in her life. She knows some of what you’ve gone through and loves this child enough to give him or her a good family.”

      Silence hung in the air as I thought “could this be the reason everything else hasn’t worked out for us?”

      I had no idea how to respond.

      “I need to talk to my husband before going any further. You know we’ve been down this road before and it’s painful. The promise of a child and then the decision by the mother to keep the baby hurts so much. I don’t think I could go through that again.”

      “I know. When she told me I told her I couldn’t let you go through another heartache. She promised me it would happen…and I believe her.”

      God knows our hearts and sees our life from beginning to end. He knew the IVF would fail. His plan was for the child this woman carried to be ours. Because I could only see the situation that was right in front of me, I reacted in anger when things didn’t turn out the way I planned. But God knew I would be a mother in less than 9 months.

      His plans are so much bigger and better than ours!

      Through this journey, my faith has grown and I have learned to trust Him completely. I also know without a doubt He is working even when I can’t see what He’s doing.

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      Posted in God's plan, seeking God, trusting God | 0 Comments
    • Pure Promises from God

      Posted at 7:35 am by sneuhofer, on November 21, 2017

      Psalm 12:6 The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.

      As I read over this verse, I couldn’t help but think of how thankful I am to know that the One I can count on when everything seems to go south will always keep His promises. He will never lie to me or try to deceive me. He can’t, it’s not in his nature. His words and promises are pure like silver refined in a furnace and purified seven times over. That just blows my mind. When I started to think about the word “pure” it made me think about its actual definition. What does the word “pure” actually mean? I went to the dictionary and looked it up, Mom would be so proud.

      Pure, a. Free from moral defilement; without spot; not sullied or tarnished; incorrupt; undebased by moral turpitude; holy.

      There, at the end of the definition – did you see it? The word holy. Our God is a holy God. What does holy mean? Again I flipped through the dictionary.

      Holy, a. Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions.

      Did you notice how many times the form of the word pure was used in the definition of the word holy? It was used 3 times. That tells me that if God’s promises are pure and God is holy then I can trust and rely on Him with every circumstance in my life. He is not going to try to trip me up for His benefit for gain. He is going to seek what is right for me, for my best interest… even if I don’t understand why He does the things he does.

      The God who spoke the entire universe into existence loves me and wants what’s best for me. The Bible proves that time and time again as we read of God’s mercy and grace. If you’re struggling withe something today and you don’t know if you can even trust God to get you through it, I encourage you to spend some time reading through the book of Psalms, Proverbs, or one of the 4 gospels. In these books you will find encouragement to press on, wisdom and knowledge, and the reason God sent Jesus to walk among us.

      God is pure and holy…  you can trust Him….  you can REALLY trust Him with all the details of your life.

      Need direction?
      Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.  (Psalm 119:105)

      Feel like your in a pit of depression?
      “You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.” (2 Samuel 22:29)

      Need His strength to get you through the toughest trial of your life? 
      “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

      Are you anxious about what the future holds? 
      “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me.” (John 14:1)

      Not sure God can forgive you? 
      “If we confess with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

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      Posted in God's promises, pure, trusting God | 0 Comments
    • Trusting God in “reed” moments

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on October 13, 2017

      Psalm 25:1 (NIV) “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.”

      Psalm 56:4 (NIV) “In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

      I had to ask myself a tough question as I read the words of Exodus chapter 2.  In the first few verses, the story is told of Jochebed, the mother of Moses, hiding her 3 month old son in a basket in the reeds by the riverbank. I began to ask myself questions as I read the words. Would I have the courage to do something like that? Would I trust God with my baby’s life?

      Have you ever wondered why she put her son in a basket and laid him alongside a river? This happened during the time the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 1:8 – 14). Pharaoh was afraid of the Hebrew’s (Israelites) growing number so he commanded the mid-wives to kill all male babies birthed by the Hebrew women. The mid-wives didn’t follow Pharaoh’s order. They feared God more than Pharaoh and because of this reverential fear, the Hebrew population grew even more.

      Jochebed was one of the women who gave birth to a boy during this time. She hid Moses in her home for 3 months until she could no longer hide him. Can you imagine what is going through her mind during those 3 months?  I can only dare to imagine.

      I wonder what her thoughts would have been as she held him while nursing. Perhaps something like this: “My son, what a wonderful gift from God, there is no way I can let you die. There has to be a way to keep you alive. Oh God! What do I do? Where can I hide him.”

      Jochebed made a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch (Exodus 2:3). She placed the child in the basket and laid him in the reeds along the riverbank of the Nile and trusted God to keep him alive. Can you just imagine the scene? Could you have watched as your baby lay in the reeds? I’m not so sure I could have done that. Jochebed sent Miriam, Moses’ sister, to stand at a distance and watch .

      Now I don’t know about you…but I am pretty sure I would not have been able to go through with this plan. True, Jochebed thought this was the only possible way to keep the boy alive. But think of the risk she was taking. I’m sure there were animals by the river. When I think about that, I think about snakes. YUK. I am not a big fan of snakes. That thought just gives me the creeps. Perhaps she remembered the stories that were handed down about Abraham and Isaac. God protected Isaac, so surely God would keep her baby alive. Her courage and faith allowed God to show up in a big way. His will for Moses’s life was being set into motion in the midst of the reeds and she didn’t even realize it.

      What could God’s will possibly be for Moses in this situation? I am certain Jochebed was scared and felt utterly hopeless. But she trusted God, and what she couldn’t see in that moment she trusted God to work in her current circumstance.

      Soon after Jochebed placed Moses in the reeds, Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river for a bath. She noticed the basket in the reeds and ordered her maid-servant to bring it to her. When she opened it, she saw Moses. He was crying so she took pity on him. She assumed he was a Hebrew baby. Her assumptions were correct. When Miriam approached the the woman, she asked if she could go find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her. Pharaoh’s daughter said “Yes” and Miriam returned to her mother and shared the good news. The woman named the boy “Moses” and hired Jochebed to nurse him. What joy Jochebed must have experienced in that moment. Her son was alive and she could raise him and be the primary influence in his life.

      In the midst of horrible circumstances, Jochebed was able to take advantage of the opportunity God had given her. Jochebed’s act of courage and faith was the beginning of God’s plan to place a Hebrew in the house of Pharaoh and ultimately rescue His people from Egypt.

      So what about you? When your current circumstances look bleak, do you become paralyzed by fear because the situation looks humanly impossible? Or do you, trust God to reveal His plan for that situation in His timing?

      You can trust God with every little detail of your life. He will bring light out of the darkest situations if you keep your focus on Him and remember He has a plan…and He is at work in every circumstance.

       

       

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      Posted in Exodus 2, Moses, trusting God | 0 Comments
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