God has a plan for all of us, that is something we can generally agree on. The fact is we never know what that plan is. Sometimes apart of the plan includes some heartache and trials like cancer, heart issues, lose of family, rape, depression and so many other tribulations one can go through, throughout life. We never know what is going to happen and when, but we do know that there is a reason for everything. Many times we want what we want, when we want it. We don't want to wait for things to happen.
Habakkuk 2:3 says But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently for it will surely take place. God has a plan for everyone, he knows what will happen and when it will happen. But it has to be in the right time, God's time not our own. Certain things that we want to happen will only happen when the time is right, when God is ready for it to happen. We cannot try and make things happen on our own. What is the point in trying to anticipate God's will/plan?
God knows when things will happen, and he know what will happen. God has a divine vision and we shouldn't go around trying to make it happen when the timing is all wrong. We should pray and trust that God's will, will be done.
There will be times throughout our lives when we feel so weak and unable to do things. Life throws us things that at times we feel like we don't have the strength to endure what comes out way. Life is hard on a daily basis, and it seems to be harder when you don't rely on your faith in God and cling to your hope in God. To often the burdens of life's trial cause us to lose our hope in the power that is in God.
Isaiah 40:31 tells us But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings of eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. This verse tells us a lot about the love of God. He lifts us up during our times of heartache and trials. When we wait upon him and have faith and hope that the Lord will renew our strength, he will. He will life us up higher than we could imagine. We need to look towards God as our refuge and strength and He will lift us up as eagles soar. He will give us strength to go on through the trials without feeling weak and weary.
When we rely on God and have hope that things will get better soon and see the good within the bad we will have strength like no other, we will be able to see clearly so to speak. Hope in the Lord restores our energy and strength. When trials head our way, the best plan is always the same call upon the Lord. He will give you the strength you need.
I was unsure of what to write about today. There are so many thoughts and ideas running around my head today on various different scripture and what they could mean. I decided I will keep on the theme of hope and trusting God. For more than one reason, one of which is that it's a chapter in my book. Hope is a very interesting emotion or thought depending on what you consider it. Hope is something that we lose easily if things aren't going the way we want them too. Hope is important and in the words of Rick Warren, we need hope to cope.
There are so many different verse within the Bible that talks 
about hope and finding and holding on to the hope we find within Jesus. One of the most common and most know verses comes from Matthew chapter 19 verse 26. It says But Jesus beheld them and said unto them, with men this is impossible, and with God all things are possible. With God all things are possible; what hope that gives us! We need to rely on God for all things in life, not just the bad things. We need to cling to the hope of what the future may hold for us and see that nothing but good could come from bad situations.
When we rely on God anything is possible, miracles can happen, people are healed, people get jobs they need, life seems to fall into place when we trust in God. Sometimes...we trust and rely on God...He brings us love. We need to hold on the hope of something better. The hope that God has a divine plan for us, and we all know that He does. Its when we lose hope that everything seems to go awry.
One thing that some atheists have asked me was how can I trust God when I cannot see, touch, or audibally hear Him. Trusting in God is a part of having faith in God. Though granted it is hard to trust in God, constantly with all things one needs to go through in life. Part of trusting God is trusting in His timing and His plan, not our timing and plans. We need to rely on God and not on our own devises, we cannot possibly be able to do the things that God can. We cannot possibly think we can solve our problems the only way God can.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil. That verse comes from Proverbs 3 5-7. When we trust in God it should be with all of our hearts, not half-heartedly like we would with some people in our lives. God is not just anyone. We shouldn't lean on the things we know or think 
we know because we are not all knowing as our Lord is. God knows everything that will come to pass and we need to pray and trust that he will guide us as the verse tells us. When we put all trust in Him our paths will lead to Him and eternal life with Him.
We need to act as though we know nothing, because in the grander scheme of things we don't. We don't know how things will happen or when they will happen. And when they do happen we need to trust that God knows where our path is headed whether it be good or bad. Trusting in God shows great faith in God as we walk broken roads. We don't know where the path will lead us, so we need to trust in God: Walk by faith not by sight as the verse, and song go. Have faith, trust in the Lord our God. He will direct our path. Trust in God and not your own understandings.
There are many people who don't believe in God's Unfailing love. Sometimes it seems unreasonable for God to love us unconditionally. Even Job the man whom was blameless at one point felt that God was unfair: You formed me with your hands; you made me, and yet you completely destroy me {Job 10: 8} As you can see Job felt as if God was destroying him because of the things that he had to endure and overcome. God did form us with his hands, but he doesn't destroy us as Job feels and as it would feel at times of depression and oppression.
Later in the chapter Job also says You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was perserved for your care {12}. While at the time Job was in deep despair and felt as if no matter what he did he would be persecuted. He also admits that God has shown him unfailing love. Job didn't know why he had to endure the troubles he did, and granted he felt bitter and as if God was unfair, but at the same time he still acknowledged God's unfailing love. How could he not feel depressed and bitter with his friends telling him he deserved the treatment he was getting. That he deserved to lose his children, land and cattle, and be stricken with disease. How else would anyone react to a friend telling them that?
Even if we are dealing with some sort of oppression like depression, cancer, health issues, relationship troubles and a list of many other things we need to realize that there is a reason for it and that God isn't doing it to punish us or anything, but that he has a greater plan for everything. His unfailing never well fails. I know there are times when we feel like it may be failing and that God is unfair, but if he was unfair and his love failing, then he wouldn't be the perfect God that he is.
For the past few days Philippians 4:4 has been on my mind. It says Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice. But sometimes rejoicing in God can be a hard thing to do especially when we are feeling at our weakest, when we feel depressed and well oppressed at the same time. When we are at our lowest it seems to take everything in us to simply read the Bible or pray to God let alone rejoicing in Him always.
The chapter proceeds to say Dont worry about anything: instead, pray about everything Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. (verse 6). Paul tells us not only do we need to rejoice in the Lord always, but we need to not worry and pray, and then to thank him for everything. Does he want us to thank God for the bad things in life? Thank God for the depression, oppression, cancer, death and more? When we are feeling the feelings we do as humans we find it hard to thank God when we are oppressed. Maybe we don't thank him for the badness we're feeling at the moment. I mean I thank God I went through cancer because I learned so much, but at the time I couldn't see the perverbial light at the end of the tunnel. So when Pauls says thank him for all he has done it is in my opinion that he's saying thank God for the past good and bad he has done since we learn from everything.
As we pray to God telling himthe things we end we should praise him and as verse 4 says Rejoice in the Lord...I repeat rejoice. Hard as it may be we need to rejoice in him and honestly when it seems to hard that's when we should turn to each other. I admit there are times when I feel like crap and don't want to read my Bible, pray and rejoice, but I know when I am with Todd I can see the meaning in rejoicing and in chats though it may seem meaningless to me some scripture have meaning to Todd and vise versa. I think that goes back to a Song of Solomon thing. Understanding each other and yet seeing the verses we both need to read and meditate on, even if it seems meaningless to us in our times of oppression.
So my dear friends: Rejoice in the Lord always...again I say Rejoice. and if you can't call someone who show you the light even if you don't see it right away.
To keep with the theme of what Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs) has to say about relationships I'm going to touch one of the most powerful portions of this book, and probably one of my favorite parts.
Song of Solomon 5:16 says His mouth is althogether sweet; he is lovely in every way. Such O women of Jerusalem, is my lover, my friend. She referred to her lover as a FRIEND. We need to view our lovers as friends first then lover second. Some of the best marriages are because the couple view each other as friends and have open lines of communication as friends would. Think about it, if you can't tell your spouse things...who could you tell?
That partly goes with intimacy you develop intimacy and work and take the time to develop the strong friendship of a loving relationship. Then in marriage it's easier to keep the intimacy and communications open. To often people rush into marriage without that foundation of friendship and intimacy and things seem to be lost. A relationship that leads to marriage needs to have that friendship quality such as listening, sharing, understanding. Thats why the woman called Solomon her friend. Friendship makes a loving relationship deeper and far more satisfying and long lasting.
