God Will Keep You Always

We love all the Toy Story movies. We see that Woody goes through a lot in each of the movies. Each movie showcases troubles that the toy Woody gets into. His owner Andy went away to college and he was boxed up and accidentally given away. Woody feels pretty bad about it all and is convinced that he meant much more to Andy than how it appears to be. Still Andy is gone and Woody is given away. Woody feels rejected and even though he wanted to stand with Andy forever, it’s over. Or so it seems. Watching to the end of the movies, each and every time we see how things turn out right for Woody, even when he’s in the hands of treachery and thievery. We applaud the good ending and rejoice with the toys.

I know there are times when we all feel like castaways. We may know that we were right where we belonged. We were doing a good job, just like Woody did a good job of being a toy for Andy. Yet things happen. While we are willing to go for the long haul, there are times when the worst happens. We get boxed up and sat to the curb. It’s then that we wonder what we are going to do. We feel alone, left out, and useless. We didn’t want it to happen but it did just the same.

Toy Story is just a movie, but the fact is we belong to Someone. We have given our heart and soul to the Lord and we pour our lives into where God has put us. Wherever we are, we are meant to sow as unto the Lord and we know that it’s from God we receive that reward. We can trust that the One who wrote our life story has not written finished, done or “the end”, for we are alive and looking for God to call us on to higher things. We can rejoice that whenever one door is closed, God most certainly has better plans for you. No one who is alive and breathing and belongs to God is useless. There may be a time of waiting for God to open that next door, but we must never give in to dismay or discouragement. This is the time to spruce ourselves up in Christ for the next big event.

Oh beloved, God knows your heart. He hears your cries of pain as someone invariably has put you out on the curb. They do not know God’s heart for you. All they can know is their perspective. But you can trust God, no matter what. You will never be called a castaway by God. And just like the ending to the children’s movie, the ending to God’s story of you is good. God promises to promote you beyond your own present situation, when you stay close to Him and rejoice in His truths. Don’t let yourself be sold out because of the current circumstances you may be in. You are priceless to God, and He will keep you safe all the way to heaven. Now is the time to get into the Word, get on your knees and get even closer to God. Your faith is your greatest ally and the Lord is your comforter. Keep watching, keep praying, keep forgiving and keep looking to the Lord for His response.

You’ll never lose out as long as you walk with Him. God is writing your story and you are In Christ. So the story of your walk with Him is written with great purpose and continuing plans of good and not evil. Nothing else matters as long as you realize that God loves you and He’s for you and His plan for you will be fulfilled.

Psalm 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

Isaiah 54:6 “For the Lord has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” Says your God.

Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Psalm 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me.

Psalm 40:5 O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

True Rest is Found in Christ.

It’s the week of the big move for one of our daughters and her family.  They didn’t have all their things moved the other night, so they stayed over with us. That night Blakely woke up disoriented and frustrated. When I got him a drink of milk and tried to take him back to our bed, he said “I want to sleep in my own bed”.  I thought it was cute and was going to take him to the extra room but he went back into my room. He refused to get in the bed though, and slept on the floor for a couple of hours. The next morning his mother told me she had asked him to lay down and that they would pick him up and put him in the new bed. He had gone to bed thinking he would wake up in his new room so he was of course disappointed.

No one wants to go to bed thinking something wonderful is going to happen only to wake up to disappointment, discouragement or a severe change of plans. While the adjustment can be hard, the Lord ultimately has good plans for you.

Oh beloved, is your mind reeling this morning?  Are the circumstances you are waking up to beyond your control? Maybe your heart is broken or your feelings are hurt.  You had a plan. You felt good. Things were looking up. You’d like to refuse to move on.  Never fear! Though your outward circumstances can change in an instant, your inward state of mind can remain steadfast, peaceful and calm.   Rejoice as you run to His Word and see that all He asks is for you to follow Him. That is where True Rest is found! He loves you and He has promised to be with you all the days of your life.

 

I Peter 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation!

Psalm 91:1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Psalm 138:8  The LORD will work out His plans for my life— for Your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for You made me.

Psalm 112:17 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.

Hebrews 6:19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.