This Isn’t Part Of The Plan!

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Have you ever felt God asking you to follow Him…and not wanted to go where He was leading? Have you ever silently prayed, “Lord, really?! This is not part of my plan!!”?

Sometimes we spend so much of our time focused on what we want and what we plan to do in the future that we dream up the most ‘perfect’ scenario…and then are disappointed when God ‘gets in the way’ of our plans and suddenly, things don’t ‘look like’ we assumed they would.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (AMP)

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Lucky for us, as Christians, God is the one in charge and He sees the big picture. ~~Sometimes~~ ~~Most of the time~~ The plans He has for us are always better than anything we could imagine.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT)

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

It’s such a comfort to know that when He interferes our plans, He always has something even better in mind.

If you’re feeling the Lord calling you to do something that wasn’t part of your game plan, maybe that’s all the more reason to be assured it is God leading you. As humans, we have a pretty strong and determined will. When we want something – from the time we are infants – we want it and we want it now. If God is tugging at your heartstrings to go in a direction that you may not have chosen for yourself, a completely unselfish direction, it certainly isn’t a worldly pull.

If you only follow Him, He will take care of you…and He may even have a few surprises in store along the way! As the book of Jeremiah tells us in the passage above, God has not only plans for us, He has GOOD plans. And when we pray to Him, He listens. His rules are there for a reason – to keep His children from harm. And when He guides you, it is to green pastures. He listens to His children. He hears our prayers and gives us a ‘future and a hope’.

Perhaps it isn’t exactly the future you imagined for yourself…but you can rest assured that if you are following the Will of God, it will be better than any plans you had for yourself!

Pray with me:

“Father God,

I know You are leading me to a brighter future than I could ever imagine for myself. Please instill in me the faith I need to follow You wherever You are leading me – no matter how it is interfering with the plans I have for my life. Help me to love You so much that following You is something I would never question, and always trust.

In Your Precious Name I Pray, Amen.”

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

How Much Faith Do We Have?

July 10, 2014July 10, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

FAITH

{PLEASE VIEW THIS POST WITHIN A BROWSER TO VIEW THE VIDEO(S) BELOW. THESE ARE PART OF THE EXPERIENCE FOR THIS POST.}

As Christians (as humans, really), we have a decision to make: our way or His.

Are we going to make decisions based solely on our desires or will we wait on our Lord to direct our steps? True surrender to God takes TRUE FAITH that God is The Supreme, Our All In All, The Lord of Our Lives. Is that the kind of faith we live with on a daily basis? Do we make our decisions and take our steps based on His Word or our whim?

Hebrews 11 is known as a text of the Bible that truly describes how to live a life of faith. (I urge you to read and study the whole chapter on your own. It’s powerful, friends.)

Hebrews 11:1-3

Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God. Because of our faith, we know that the world was made at God’s command. We also know that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.

FAITH makes us sure. Faith is confidence in God and in our total surrender to Him. And here, is also explained the difference between HOPE and FAITH. We don’t HOPE in God. We have FAITH in Him. “Faith makes us sure of what we hope for…” Hebrews 11:1a

The difference is this – Faith supersedes hope. Noah didn’t build his ark at God’s command because he HOPED it would rain. I seriously doubt he would have spent longer than the average person’s LIFE SPAN to build a huge boat on dry land based on something he only hinged HOPE on. Noah must have been 150%+ sure The Flood would come.

And THAT is the kind of faith we need to have.

Matthew 17:20

Jesus replied: It is because you don’t have enough faith! But I can promise you this. If you had faith no larger than a mustard seed, you could tell this mountain to move from here to there. And it would. Everything would be possible for you.

A mustard seed. Do you realize how teeny-tiny that is??

With THAT little faith, we can command a mountain to move. I am not one who believes Jesus spoke in riddles all the time. I have faith that the Bible is literal. Unless Jesus says He is telling a parable, I have faith (not hope) that the Bible is completely true, accurate and literally written. So, when God says it only takes mustard seed-sized faith to command mountains, I begin to wonder how teeny-tiny our faith is??

If mountains are not moving in your life, you need to increase your faith! Here are three simple steps to do just that:

HEAR, don’t just read silently, the Word of God.

Romans 10:17

No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ.

2. OBEY/LIVE OUT God’s Word, i.e. “Don’t just talk the talk; rather, walk the walk.”

James 1:22

Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it.

3. PROVE God’s power in your life. The Lord tells us to test Him in one way – by tithing, with the first ten percent of your income.

Malachi 3:10-11

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.

James tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3, NIV).

Faith. It changes everything.

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What Would YOUR Book In The Bible Look Like?

June 11, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Good Evening Everyone (Or Early Morning, Depending On How You Look At It),

So during our Bible Study a week or so ago, the chapter we are studying in “Experiencing God” mentioned that the Bible, as a whole, isn’t an account of the people in the Bible – like John, Peter, Ruth, Noah or Abraham, but rather is a story of God working through the lives of these people. The Bible is then an autobiography of the Lord, and the other characters throughout were vehicles through whom He worked.

This got me to thinking. Suppose Noah hadn’t built the ark, as God instructed. Suppose Noah heard God’s instruction and thought, “Ugh. It’s too hot to build an ark. I don’t even know HOW anyway! I’m not a boat builder! Plus, I have plans! I don’t have time to do this.” Or what if Mary had not said YES to God’s invitation to carry His Son?

The Bible would be a very different book if those who accepted God’s instruction had lived according to THEIR will, rather than HIS will. So, what would a Bible story of YOUR life look like? Would the book be full of detail as you followed Christ and carried out His plans, or would it be a short account in which Jesus asked you to do something, and you told Him you were too busy and let YOUR plans get in the way?

In considering this, Craig and my ‘Mission Statement’ for our marriage had to be re-examined. And so, even though he was off work all last week, and I usually enjoy the luxury of not having to be at work until 11AM, we followed God’s call and rose early each morning to lead the music together for our church’s summer program for middle and high school students – who were less than thrilled to be at church at 8AM when on summer vacation. This week, even though I am working a 9-5 schedule with the sweet children I nanny, I am rushing off to help lead the music for VBS each evening after work from 6-8:30PM.

We certainly aren’t asking for medals or accolades here. Not in the least. BUT the whole idea of considering what your story in the Bible would resemble certainly made us realize that following God’s Will and putting Him first in our life was absolutely the MOST important thing. Even though 12-13 hour days are NOT fun, and getting up early on your day off is NOT typically anyone’s cup of tea, living life for Christ is our mission, and as we have learned, His ways are not always OUR ways.

I thank God He brought me my soulmate, who stands right by my side as we endeavor to lead our lives for Him. The Lord doesn’t always guide us down the newly paved road, but more often than not, the bumpy, gravelly, dirt path most people try to avoid.

We pray He will continue to guide us, and we ask for your prayers for our journey, as well. We would love to pray for you, too, and many of you we already do! If you have a special request you would like us to pray for you or with you, please e-mail Craig and I at newlywedlefebvres@gmail.com

Well, it’s now time for bed, as there is another full day of nannying and VBS and puppies…Yes, we have multiple doggies in the Lefebvre household now! Don’t worry, our next post will include more on recent events and if we are diligent, even some pictures!

Take Care and God Bless,

Pier & Craig