Wednesday, October 22, 2008

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A Forward From God

I don't know about you but I must confess that I don't always read forwards.  I almost dread seeing those letters "Fwd:" in my inbox.  That is especially so if the person who sends me the forward doesn't write anything else personal along with it.  It seems too easy.  Just forward it to everybody you know.  Point, click, send.  At the same time, I usually at least skim these messages to see if there is anything worthwhile in them (after all, the person who sent them to me thought so) and every once in a while, there is something in there that really catches me.  Such was the case with one I received just the other day from an old friend whom I had not been in much contact with until we renewed our friendship recently via email.  It goes this way:

     To:  YOU
     Date:  TODAY
     From:  GOD
     Subject:  YOURSELF 

This is God.  Today I will be handling all of your problems for you.  I do not need your help.  So, have a nice day.  I love you.

P.S. And, remember . . . If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it yourself!  Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box.  I will get to it in MY TIME.  All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it.  Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.

Should you decide to send this to a friend; Thank you.  You may have touched their life in ways you will never know!

Now, you have a nice day.

     God

The forward concluded as most of these forwards do with the instructions for what to do with it.  "God has seen you struggling, God says it's over.  A blessing is coming your way.  If you believe in God, please send to ten people (including me).  Please don't ignore this.  You are being tested."  And then finally I was told, "YOU HAVE 20 MINUTES TO TELL 10 FRIENDS THAT YOU LOVE THEM (INCLUDING ME).  SO I LOVE YOU!  GO!" 

All of that aside, and the fact that I didn't forward it to you in the traditional way, and that my 20 minutes expired some time ago, is the message still true?  I do care about you a lot and that is great.  Much greater is the fact that God cares about us.  He loves us so much that 2000 years ago he forwarded a Word to us, not in an email but in flesh, in the form of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:14).  And he wants us to forward that message of love to all of our friends and neighbors, again, not in words only but through a flesh and blood person, you and me!

As far as the forward above goes, scripture says simply that we are to "Cast all your cares/anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).  He wants to handle all of your and my problems each and every day.  He wants us to have good days.  Because he cares for us.  He wants us to be overcomers.  He says that with whatever comes our way, he will always provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13) and that we can do all things through him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).  The fact that he takes care of things in his time is true and we will just have to reconcile ourselves to that fact and know that his grace is sufficient for us the same way it was for Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9).  We are not to be anxious or worry but to give it to him and prayer and let his peace come (Philippians 4:6-7).  Having done all of that, we can set our mind on things that are above our situation (see Colossians 3:1-2).  We can focus in on the One who is wonderful.  What a great way to have a great day!

This forward encouraged me.  It grows out of all that God has said in his word.  God, you have something to do in my life today, and I am confident that if I leave it with you, you will do all things well.

I trust that this has encouraged you as well.  And maybe, you could forward it to someone else that you know and bless them!  Have a wonderful day!

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