What Does God Have in Store for You?

Photo Courtesy of Microsoft

As I read Isaiah 61 on Friday morning, a list developed before my eyes. A list of how I am blessed by God. A list of promises for my life. I thought you may be blessed with this encouragement, as well, so I share it with you.

What God has for my life and says about me:

•  The Spirit of God is upon me, just as He was upon Jesus.
• I am anointed.
• I can preach good tidings to the poor.
• I can bring healing to the brokenhearted through my relationship with Jesus.
• I can proclaim liberty to the captives.
• I can open the prison of those who are bound through my testimony and the blood of the Lamb.
• I can proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
• I can proclaim the day of God's vengeance.
• I can comfort those who mourn.
• I can console those who mourn.
• I have beauty from ashes.
• I have the oil of joy for mourning.
• I have a garment of praise I can put on for a spirit of heaviness.
• I am a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.
• I glorify the Lord.
• I can rebuild the ruined cities.
• I can raise up the former desolation (restoration).
• I can repair the ruined cities.
• I am a priest(ess) of the Lord.
• I am a servant of God.
• I eat riches in His kingdom.
• I have double honor instead of shame.
• I rejoice in my portion, rather than dwell in confusion.
• I possess double in my land.
• I have everlasting joy.
• God will direct my work in truth.
• I have an everlasting covenant with the Lord.
• My descendents shall be known. 
• All who see my descendants will acknowledge them.
• My descendants are the posterity whom the Lord has blessed.
• I greatly rejoice in the Lord.
• My soul is joyful in my God.
• I am clothed with the garments of salvation.
• God has covered me with the robe of righteousness. I am a bridegroom bedecked with ornaments, a bride adorned with jewels.

The Blessings of God Part Three

“Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people.”

- Psalm 3:8

Our current residence is on a major highway in Georgia. With factories and a nuclear facility nearby, traffic is constant. Trucks carry fresh-cut logs to the paper mill. Half the city travels to work at the plant each morning and evening. People pull in and out of local gas stations and convenient stores. At any time during the day, one may or may not safely travel this particular highway.

Recently, a local newspaper covered the accident rate on local roads. This highway ranks as the worst for deadly accidents. More than four people have died on this road within the last two years. The main cause of these deadly crashes? People who aren’t paying attention and pull out in front of another driver who is traveling sixty miles per hour or more.

Two days ago, I traveled the highway, taking my children to day camp at our church. Driving sixty miles per hour, I approached a side road. A man in a large, white car sat at the end of the road, looking as if he was paying attention. However, as I neared, I slowed just a bit, because I noticed him looking in the opposite direction and beginning to pull out. I wouldn’t have enough time to stop before broadsiding him if he did pull out. What do you know? He did it anyway. He whipped his car out in front of me, never bothering to look in my direction. I slammed on my brakes and laid my hand across my horn. Fool.

I had just finished telling my children the importance of wearing their seat belts. The night before, I’d read of a woman who started a beauty pageant in memory of her daughter, who died in a car accident because she wasn’t wearing her seat belt. Two of my own children “forget” to put on their seat belts 98% of the time. As my daughter listened to my explanation of what happens when we forget to do important things, she clicked her seat belt into its buckle and asked if I would miss her and cry if she died. Absolutely! My son also made certain his seat belt was properly buckled. Not two miles down the road, the man pulled in front of me.

God is gracious and knew I would have this experience. I managed to turn my vehicle just enough to get around the back end of the man’s boat of a car. We missed him. God saved us from a nasty accident.

I thanked God for His protection, His salvation, and His blessing that day. I held gratitude in my heart for Him as He watched over my children and me in our travels down a deadly highway.

God’s blessing is upon His people. You. Me. Our children. Salvation belongs to Him. What blessing have you received from Him lately? How has God saved you or a family member or a friend? Remember to thank Him for those things today.

I’m going to go write mine in my Thankful Journal today, so I’m not quick to forget just how blessed I am.

The Blessings of God Part Two

Photo Copyright 2011 Alycia W. Morales

“You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.

He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.”

~ Psalm 21:2-4

Do you remember the day you accepted Jesus into your heart and placed Him as King of your life? I do.

In the summer of 1994, I visited home after going through some trauma at college. At twenty years old, I’d made poor choices and realized I couldn’t do life alone, my way. I desperately needed Jesus.

I sat with my brother and some of his new friends (all younger than me) as they listened to my friend, Dean, play Christian songs on his guitar. Rock songs. I had no idea Christians could be so cool. I’d only known those who stood up and sat down and played old pipe organs while some grey-haired woman screeched out a solemn hymn.

As Dean continued to play, my curiosity about this “saving” concept grew. When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I blurted out, “Dean, can you save me?”

He looked at me and said, “Uh. No. I can’t. But Jesus can.”

I repeated after him and said the prayer of salvation on the spot. And asked to be baptized.

The pastor of my family’s new church heard of my salvation story and requested I give a brief testimony and recite the prayer again in front of his congregation on Sunday. I eagerly agreed. He told me he’d baptize me in the river after church. I couldn’t wait for Sunday!

Although the slight breeze blew chilly, and the mountain river water was early summer warm, I didn’t notice. The only thing I recognized was the joy and excitement bubbling up from somewhere deep inside of me.

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the name of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” I plugged my nose, closed my eyes tight, and Whoosh! Under. Dead to my old spirit. Up and above. Alive to the new spirit. The new me. Me in Christ. I’d never felt cleaner in my life! And trust me, I hate swimming in fishy river water. But I didn’t feel covered in slime or nastiness. I felt sparkling, shiny, new clean!

Like I had a crown of pure gold on my head. Daughter of the Risen King.

Like I’d received length of days and a second chance to get it right. Forever. Eternity.

God met me with the blessings of His goodness that August afternoon. His mercy began following me for the rest of my days. Into eternity.

The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He’d love to have our lives in his hand. But when we ask God, when we truly cry out from the valley depths within us for newness of life with Jesus as our Savior, we find the true desires of our hearts met. We find life in Christ, and it comes with an abundance of God’s goodness we could never fathom.

Take the time today to reflect on the moment you cried out to God for His salvation. That moment you realized you were sinking in your own sinful self and couldn’t do life without Him for another nanosecond. Smile. Praise the Lord for His blessings poured out over you in that moment.

And have a blessed day!

The Blessings of God Part One

God’s word holds many promises for those who love Him. For the next month, I’ll be sharing some of them with an encouraging word. I pray you find His heart for you in the midst of these posts.

“Blessed is the man

 Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

 Nor stands in the path of sinners,

 Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

 And in His law he meditates day and night.

 He shall be like a tree

 Planted by the rivers of water,

 That brings forth fruit in its season,

 Whose leaf also shall not wither;

 And whatever he does shall prosper.”

~ Psalm 1:1-3

Are you a blessed man or woman of God? Some days, it feels as if God’s blessings abound. We walk on Cloud 9. All is right in our world, and all is well with our souls. The finances are flowing, the bills are paid, there’s food on our tables, and no one is ill or dying. Other days, the kids have the stomach bug, the price of food and gas go up, making our budgets too tight, and the family pet runs out in front of a car.

The Word of God promises us that when we choose to seek God and meditate in His Word, we are blessed. Regardless of our circumstances.

Psalm 1 promises us we shall be like a tree, planted by rivers of water. It takes a strong tree with good roots to withstand the torrents of life. As we root ourselves in God’s Word, proclaiming His blessings over our lives, we develop the ability to withstand the rough waters that come with the storms of life.

It also says that the tree will bring forth fruit in its season, and its leaf will not wither. This verse describes the hope we have in Jesus. As we continually apply God’s word to our lives, we bear fruit. We live according to God’s Word and His plan for our lives. We find and gain strength in Jesus. We hear the Holy Spirit when He speaks to us. We recognize the hand of God in our lives and know better how to follow His guidance. Others recognize a change in our lives and wonder where it came from. Our leaf will not wither. We will no longer live under oppression, depression, or any other thing that would try to hold us down or back in life. Generations to come will know that we loved and followed God with our entire beings.

And, finally, whatever we do will prosper. Whether it’s our relationship with Jesus, our marriage, our singleness, our parenting, our step-parenting, our work, our service, our time spent caring for loved ones, our missions, our you-name-it, it will prosper in the hands of the Lord. Because, ultimately, all we have and are belongs to God. His kingdom knows no bounds. He is Lord of All. It is His will and desire to bless us, to prosper us. After all, if we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more does He?

Find joy and peace in knowing that God has your best interests at heart today. Deny the worries of this world and delight yourself in His Word. Meditate on His goodness and love, mercy and grace. Have a blessed day.

Church Photo Courtesy of  Bev Lloyd-Roberts

Grapes Photo Courtesy of Nat Arnett