Thursday's Thoughts ~ Who's In Charge?

Oh, remember that girl who was quite faithful about blogging twice a week?  Well, she has left the premises!  The good news is that she is happily busy and full of JOY.

With that said, it is good for me to process and write about the things that God speaks to me.  I have been slowly reading through Acts.  It is very familiar so I have to focus to see the treasures that the Lord has for me.  Today - that treasure was in a rather unexpected verse.

"But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned."  Acts 24:27

Politics is nothing new.  It is practically as old as time. 

Paul has seemingly become a puppet of the Roman rulers and a token or bargaining chip with the Jews.  He was not considered as a man or a person of value and worth.  He was casually left in prison "as a favor" and certainly as a curiosity.  He was an amusement and even a pet of sorts to those in power.

Of course, how it looked from the outside was quite different than reality.

*Paul had willingly gone to the temple where he knew that he would be bound and that suffering was to come.

*He claimed his Roman citizenship knowing that he would be sent to Rome.

*He gained an audience with the powerful and influential and had many opportunities to share the gospel as well as encourage his flock through letters.

Paul never lost sight of who was in control.  He trusted that God was sovereign each step of the way, even when that path included suffering and injustice.  He embraced every opportunity that his circumstances offered to speak of Jesus and simply trusted with an every increasing faith and sense of purpose.

Oh, how I want to have faith like Paul.

The year ahead of me is one of change.  We have two grand babies on the way -- a grandson in June and a grandbaby in October.  Alan is heading into his last year in Chicago.  There will be a change, but we don't know what it will be.

I choose to acknowledge God's sovereignty in this situation.  
I choose to trust in His plans.

He knows my heart and my desires and I have grown to trust Him and embrace His purposes for me.

I want to have the faith to simply take the next baby steps (no pun intended!) and follow Him wherever He leads.

I don't want to follow as if I am dragging my feet.

I want to follow wherever He leads with my step quickened by my love for my Savior.

God is in charge and for that, I am eternally grateful.