Two years ago, my New Year’s resolution was to pray more, speak less, and trust God to do the rest! To be honest, I’ve done the complete opposite. It’s more like speak first, pray later, trust who? Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I’m a control freak by nature. Trusting in something I cannot see is hard. I hate the uncertainties of life and I seek validation in others versus seeking it in God.
What I find funny is that God knew the plans that He had for my life before I was even born ( as stated in Jeremiah 1:5). He knew I would backslide and be a hotheaded mess. However, He also knew that, eventually, I would change. He would transform me from the inside out. If I know that to be true, why do I continue to want to take control? I ask myself, “Do I really do trust Him like I say I do?”. I say that I trust in His plan but do I really ?
Pastor once preached about people who hold us back. They remind us of who we used to be in order to hold us back. This kind of person is called a ‘hater’. Truth be told, those haters are your irritants. I have a shirt that says, “If I was a Hater I’d hate me TOO!” I say this to emphasize the fact that when God starts blessing you, your haters begin to irritate you. So let them hate and irritate. God is doing something so awesome that they want to hold you back. They want what you have. They have that ‘if I can’t have it, no one should’ mentality’. They want to remind you why you shouldn’t be blessed. They will make you question the very thing that God is doing in your life. If your blessing wasn’t going to be so great, you wouldn’t have haters! Similar to what my shirt says, I would hate on myself too if I were a hater!
Today I challenge you all to do a self-evaluation. Look at your problem and ask, “Is there anything that is too hard for God?” Step out in faith. Yes, it’s scary! Yes, the devil will throw opposition your way! If living in God’s will were so easy, the devil wouldn’t be fighting you as ferociously as he has been! Therefore, you need to allow the haters to hate. Neither the haters nor the devil can destroy God’s plans and purpose for your life. Give God the wheel and relinquish your control.
Cathedral of New Beginnings 