Fearfully Wonderfully Me

Growing in God and Inspiring Young Women Through Faith and Fashion

Tag: purpose (page 1 of 2)

When It Feels Like Your Life Has No Direction

When It Feels Like Your Life Has No Direction

August 15, 2018 / / 2 Comments

I remember sitting in the library of my local community college. I was trying to figure out what career I wanted to pursue, and how to go about life while facing a chronic illness.

Any young adult can relate to the pressures of this world. It’s like as soon as you turn 18, you need to have everything all figured out.

College majors, jobs, dating, and relationships. There’s just so much to figure out, and sometimes it feels like you’re the only one without a clue of what to do–the only one without direction.

When you feel like your life has no direction, this is actually an opportunity for God to reveal His purpose in incredible ways.

A Godly Perspective

God is omniscient, which means He knows everything. He has an eternal perspective that our human minds can’t comprehend.

Although we may feel lost or confused in this life, nothing about our lives ever takes Jesus by surprise.

I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ (Isaiah 46:10 NIV)

Sometimes we face challenges or disappointments that rattle our faith. Whenever we face life’s hurdles, we have two choices:

We can choose to reject God and trust in ourselves (or give up), or we can cling to the promise that His ways are higher than ours.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)

God’s plans may be different from ours, but that’s a good thing! My life looks drastically different than I thought it would 3 years ago, and I’m so thankful for that now.

Surrendering to Purpose 

Trusting in God and clinging to His promises starts with surrender. Often times we want our lives to go a certain way, and when there’s a plot twist, we feel lost. Other times, we just don’t know what it is God’s calling us to do.

There’s beauty in not knowing. This is where our faith can truly flourish. When God derails our plans, it’s always because His purpose is greater.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)

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When It Feels Like Your Life Has No Direction

Although it may seem like we are walking in darkness, God is leading us down a path that develops faith, character, and promise.

When it suddenly feels like you’ve lost all direction, this is the perfect opportunity to say “I trust You Lord,” and surrender your future to the one who is always faithful.

A Present Direction

So we know that Jesus is good, and that we can surrender our lives to him in full trust. But what action can we take to better our lives in the waiting?

As a recent college graduate, I know all too well the haunting uncertainties of the future. What will my career be? How will I take care of myself financially?

Worrying about the future doesn’t do anything but make us feel stressed and worn out. I recently received a wise word that has helped me through this season of uncertainty.

Live in the present moment.

Although this might sound like a hippie slogan, it’s actually Biblical.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34 NIV)

God has everything all figured out, and when we surrender our lives to Him, His plans will always come to pass.

We find joy every day while focusing on the Lord and the small ministries he places before us. When we worry over our lives, we miss out on the opportunity to love others and build God’s Kingdom.

When you live a life that’s fully surrendered to God and His daily provision, there is a peace and joy that goes beyond all understanding.

Maybe we got it all wrong. Perhaps a life with an earthly direction isn’t as important as we thought. Maybe our plans are just a distraction from the true purpose God has given us.

A woman who is dedicated to Jesus has a life of purpose and direction. When we look to the Kingdom instead of this world, we find all that we are truly looking for.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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How God Turns Disappointment into Purpose

How God Turns Disappointment into Purpose

June 27, 2018 / / 4 Comments

I felt the pain hit me like a tsunami as the doctor said the words, you need surgery again. After I broke my elbow last winter and had emergency surgery, I thought healing would come relatively quickly and easily.

After months of physical therapy, my movement is still restricted due to the size of the plate that helped fuse my bones together. Now that plate has to go so my arm can be free.

Whether it’s a breakup, job loss, or some other life altering event, disappointment affects us all. But where do we find healing?

If we look to the Bible, we find a woman named Hannah, who endured some heartbreaking disappointment with humility and faith. She found healing and victory, and so can we.

Becoming Vulnerable

In 1 Samuel 1, we meet Hannah in the midst of her anguish. She’s married to a man named Elkanah, but she can’t have any children. Although infertility is heart wrenching enough for women today, it felt like complete failure in ancient times.

Elkanah’s second wife, Peninnah, kept provoking Hannah, causing her to weep in distress as they went up to the house of the Lord to make their yearly sacrifice.

Hannah had a choice in how to respond. She could have chosen bitterness toward Peninnah or to wallow alone in her misery. Instead, Hannah took her burden to the Lord.

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. (1 Samuel 1:10 NIV)

When we are heartbroken and in anguish, sometimes our first response is to hide from God. However, this is the opposite of what God wants for us. He wants us to be open and vulnerable. He wants raw tears and haunting fears.

Our Heavenly Father wants His children right where they are. God can only transform our lives when we let Him into our hearts.

Turning our Disappointment into Surrender 

Sometimes what we think we want isn’t always the best thing for us. Or, as in Hannah’s case, we must wait for our prayers to be answered.

When we feel disappointed, we must grieve for the loss of what we had or wanted. After pouring out our grief to the Lord, we must surrender our dreams, hurts, and expectations to God’s sovereign care.

And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11 NIV)

When Hannah made  this vow to the Lord, she knew that any future child of hers would be dedicated to God. She had to let go of her past expectations and trust in the Lord fully.

When we’ve been hurt or disappointed, trusting the Lord is a challenge. But Jesus is always in full control of our lives. Nothing takes Him by surprise–not a job loss or diagnosis–nothing.

When Hannah dedicated her dream of having a son to the Lord, she showed true faith. Faith goes beyond this realm and is found only in complete dependence upon our Savior.

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How God Turns Disappointment into Purpose

A New Expectation  

Hannah didn’t stop at vulnerability and surrender. As she pressed on in faith, her expectations changed.

She said, “May your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast. Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. (1 Samuel 1:18-19 NIV)

Instead of the deep anguish of her disappointment, Hannah’s face held hope. She got up and worshipped with her family. And then her miracle finally happened; the Lord gave her a son named Samuel!

Now, we might not always get what we want when going through a disappointing situation. But when we press on in faith and worship, God remembers us.

Jesus is known for showing up in unexpected ways, and He does what seems impossible by human standards.

In 1 Samuel 2, God honors Hannah’s faithfulness in giving up Samuel to the priest so that he could serve God all of his life. In return, Hannah received many more sons and daughters, as well as the honor of Samuel becoming a great judge for Israel’s kings.

When we trust God and keep our hope in the promise of His Word, we find that He is always faithful.

Having a second surgery on my arm was not something I wanted, but I believe that God is working out a higher purpose out of what now feels like a disappointment. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that with Jesus, no struggle we go through is ever wasted. It’s a journey of vulnerability, surrender, and faith for the future.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

(Photography by Mohamed Nohassi and Annie Spratt)

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God’s Stitches

March 15, 2017 / / 15 Comments

Do you ever look around and feel inadequate or unsure of your future? Do you compare yourself to others or question God’s plans for your life?

Don’t worry lovely reader, you’re in good company. A few weeks ago these exact feelings were swirling around my brain. I was cleaning out my purse when I found the old crumpled up newsletter from my friend Michelle, who is a school teacher in Senegal. Her words were arrows to my heart, a message from God I wanted to share with you:

We each represent one pixel of the greater purpose of God’s plan–which has always been and will always be about His glory and honor and renown. It is not for me to question, or compare, or look around me. My purpose is to gaze hard at Jesus and as a small pixel to be a part of displaying His glory. –Michelle

As I read Michelle’s letter, I found myself thinking about my hobby of knitting. Every stitch is so small in comparison to the final product, yet without each one, the piece would completely fall apart. If I drop a stitch by mistake, then the whole scarf or blanket will unravel into a large hole.

It’s the same with you and me lovely reader. We are all God’s stitches in this gigantic knit blanket we call earth. It can be easy to compare ourselves to one another or not feel like we’re making a difference, but these are all lies from the enemy.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV)

As followers of Christ, we make up the collective church that is the Bride of Christ. Every single one of us is important, although our roles may be different. Just as every stitch of yarn depends on the ones connected to it, we lean on one another to glorify God.

The world needs Christians of all different skills, backgrounds, and callings in order to reach people for Christ. 

Although you may feel insignificant, just look at the widow in the Bible who gave only two small coins to the treasury.

So He [Jesus] said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” (Luke 21:3-4 NKJV)

Do you know why Jesus was so impressed by this woman’s offering? It’s not the amount that mattered. Jesus was pleased because she gave all that she had. This woman gave her whole heart and held nothing back from her Savior.

We all have something we can give God–whether it be time, money, prayers, talents, kindness, labor, or anything else He’s graced us with.

As a blogger, it’s easy for me to get wrapped up in comparing myself to other successful bloggers who have thousands of followers and posts that go viral. But instead of helping me, comparison only leads to distracting me from everyone I do influence. I can’t possibly see what God is doing in my life when I’m too busy looking at what others are doing. 

It does not matter whether you’re chasing after kids or running a whole church. God places the same value on every heart that is fully devoted to Him. After all, it’s about His glory anyway.

God has a plan for your life lovely one, even if it’s not yet clear to you. More importantly, He wants to lead you in the present moment. Jesus wants to  walk with you and watch you grow, stitch by stitch, into the beautiful piece of art He created you to be. 

 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

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The Single Life~Day 3 of The 30 Day Blog Challenge

January 5, 2017 / / 11 Comments

Hello lovely readers and followers! Welcome back to Day 3 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge. 

Today’s Topic: Describe Being Single

Well, I’ve already written a guest post on being a single Christian lady, but I didn’t really share my personal experience. I guess that’s because writing about love and relationships is a very personal and sensitive topic to approach.

I’ve dated before. I had a couple of relationships in high school that ended badly, and one at the beginning of college that wasn’t what God wanted for me. Right now I am single, and I would say that I am pretty content–most of the time. There are definitely moments I wish I was in a relationship, especially during holidays and family gatherings. But most of the time I’m so busy with school, writing, and church, that I hardly notice it.

I guess one of the biggest worries for a single Christian woman is if they will remain that way forever (assuming they want to be married one day). I do want to be married one day, but I’m quite young to be worried about timing I guess. I know I just need to trust that God is a good Father with good plans for my life. He knows what I need, and He knows what you need. We just have to wait on His timing.

I guess the plan for my single years is to glorify God as much as I can, growing in my faith and having a blast while doing it. I am working on building friendships with other Christians and discovering the talents and gifts God has instilled in me. Of course, it’s a rocky road being a twenty-something girl with no clue what the future holds. But isn’t that in itself kind of romantic and inspiring?

Life is an adventure, and I want to make the most of it–even the challenging parts. God can use a single person just as much as He can a married person, if not more (Hello Jesus and Paul!). So I guess this is my prime time to help make an impact on the world around me.

Yes, I am single–but that’s okay! Even though I sometimes wonder about my mysterious future husband, I am happy. Yup, that’s right. I am happy–right here and right now. My joy is Christ, and He has blessed me beyond belief.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33 NIV).

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment and share. 

Make sure to check out Courtney at 1Timothy4:12Girl as she partners with me in this challenge! I’ll be back tomorrow with Day 4 of the challenge 🙂

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FirstFruits~Why You Were Created

November 2, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Hello lovely readers and followers! Welcome to Part 3 of the FirstFruits series, where we continue to explore the concepts of James 1.

James 1 focuses on the Christian under trials. Most of us know what it’s like to experience trials and losses, and it doesn’t make us feel very special. It doesn’t always make us feel very loved.

Yup, I went there. It’s hard to feel loved by God when your whole world is falling apart. After all, where is God when all of these awful things are happening–when we’re persecuted, grieving, or fighting a battle? Why is He letting these things happen to us? 

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:16-18 NKJV). 

These verses seem pretty positive compared to the feelings I previously stirred up. Let’s backtrack to verse 13.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone (James 1:13 NKJV).

God does not tempt us or cause our trials. He is a God of good and perfect gifts. When James says that God has “no variation or shadow of turning” (verse 17), he is reminding us that God is constant in His love. We can know that God is still giving His children good gifts, and that He is not just sitting up above punishing us. He is a good and faithful Father!

The reason God lets us endure trials is so we can become perfected like Jesus (James 1:4). Once we put this chapter together–piece by piece–we can see how this all makes sense.

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The reason why I entitled this series FirstFruits is because that is a part of our identity in Christ. We are God’s children, and we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27). We are His most beloved creation. God didn’t have to make you, but He did, of his own will. He has a purpose for you.

In the Bible a firstfruit is the first part of the harvest that is the most important, as it is given as an offering to God.  As a child of God, you are more important than any other creature on the planet.

Now of course God loves all of His creation, but we humans bear something special. We are a reflection of God, and with His Holy Spirit, we can produce the fruit of love and grace just like Jesus Christ!

As God’s firstfruits, we need to give our lives as an offering to our King. This means surrendering our will for His. It means giving up our sins for His grace. It means trusting God to guide us and help us develop our gifts and passions for His glory.

No matter what trials we may face or what hardships may come our way, we can rest in knowing that our God is there, loving us and creating us for purpose. God wants good things for our lives and has given us the most perfect gift of all–a Savior. 

Jesus is the answer to all of our battles. He is the one who will never fail us. Trust in Him, beloved child of God. This is your purpose. This is why you were created. 

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment and share 🙂

Missed Part 2 of the FirstFruits series? Click here!

Make sure to subscribe by email so you don’t miss the fourth and final part of the FirstFruits series!

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