“Your success depends on the favor of God in your life!”
– Pastora Mylene Evangelista, New Life The Fort
As I write this, New Life The Fort’s Podcast about Qara: God Moments of Favor (if you haven’t subscribed to the podcasts of New Life The Fort, please do me a favor and do so… now!) and I couldn’t help but cry a bit as I listen and shout my own muffled amens to what Pastora Mylene Evangelista is sharing.
But before I get ahead of myself, allow me to begin this entry.
I have a lot of fond childhood memories but my favorites would always consist of Play Dough simply because my mom, the ultimate OC dislikes the mess it creates at home.
So whenever we had the chance to play with play dough, I would always squeal in delight (still do?!) and pour myself over the different patterns and molders that came with the brightly colored clay. I would spend hours playing with my classmates and thinking of what to create next.
This particular memory came to mind while listening to the said podcast simply because as we all know, we are the clay and God is the potter.
However, no matter how many times I sang the song in high school, I never quite understood until now.
I guess God answered the random questions in my head last Thursday.
As I watched the final episode of One Tree Hill, I found myself crying, wondering really where did the last seven years of my life go? I was crying not because I feel like my life is a mess right now, but I was crying because I remembered how hopeful I was of my life when I was 17, crying over yet again another episode of Tree Hill.
I knew in my heart that things were about to get better and at the back of my mind, I knew that God was making all things work together for my good.
It’s amazing to think that life never turns out the way we imagine it to. On most days, I think of it as a cliche, but on days such as this one, I have never believed in any statement more than I believe in that one.
I used to be cynical about it, always thinking that maybe I was going to end up doing something I detested and end up with a thousand cats alone when i’m sixty.
I guess that was before I truly believed in my heart that My God, My Daddy God loves me and cares about the things I care about, no matter how minute they may seem. To be reminded that our God loves us so much that He is the one who makes a way for us to meet specific people (Erik Spolestra, will I meet you soon?) and be in specific places at exactly the right time.
As I listen to the podcasts which reminds us that no matter how smart we are, how rich or how powerful we are, we will not be fulfilling what we were created for unless we given up our dependency on all those things and know that it is God’s favor that causes us wealth and success.
And it is God’s favor that brings us to where we want to be.
There is a different kind of peace when you know that God has you where He wants you, it is a peace that cannot be replaced by the material things in the world.
It is the kind of peace that comes with the assurance that you are doing what you were born to do, with the people you were meant to be with.
As I look back on the times I have tried to “mold” myself into something that I thought would make me happy, I cringe a bit, because I absolutely had no idea what God had for me and how limited my thinking was.
But as I slowly (and sometimes painfully) let go of relationships and dreams that I knew my Creator did not agree with, not because they were bad in general, but only because they were not what He had in mind when He created me, I opened myself up to the possibilities that God had for me from the beginning.
And as I write this, I believe that you reading this entry is also a “God happening” in action. That it is by divine intervention that you stumbled upon this blog and I want to remind you that:
You are loved. You are cared for and no you have not reached a dead end. God is simply preparing you for the bright things He has for you. No matter ho much you want to give up, believe that you are meant for more and believe in your heart that hey maybe today could be the last day you feel this way.
God is always in charge and He is faithful– He was not lying when He said that He will never leave you nor forsake you.
That broken dream or relationship may leave you crying for a bit, but believe me when I say that one day, you will look back and realize that it was all part of a grand plan.
So cry a little, but smile afterwards, because things will start turning around for you. The plan is falling accordingly, all you have to do is have just a little more faith.
The right time at the right place.
Nobody but God can lead you to those prized encounters.
So drop everything else, give it all to Him and see how wonderfully He works in your life, not because you deserve it, but because He loves you and wants you happy.
So pray and believe that September is YOUR month and God has filled its days with miracles and answered prayers.