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God Sees and Knows everything Salt and Sparrow, woman standing on a hillside with a camera in her hand staring off in the distance
Spiritual Growth

God Sees and Knows Everything, Including My Future

March 14, 2023

I cannot see into the future any more than I can see inside of someone’s heart. But if you could listen in on my thoughts sometimes, you would think I could do both.

I imagine ways I can fix things in my life. It leads me down the trail of “if only” where I always factor in the way someone else could make my life better if only they would change.

Invariably, this makes me think about what is going on inside their heart as I imagine how they feel about me.

If I wasn’t so frustrated, I would laugh at myself when I do this. After all, I know for a fact that I don’t know what tomorrow brings.

I also know that I’ll never be able to truly understand how someone else is feeling or what their motives are.

God has given us an amazing promise when He told us in Jeremiah 29:11 “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 a hope and a future.”

That really should be all I need to hear.

But somehow, I forget time and time again that I’m not actually the one in charge of my life.

I look at how things are going and clearly see that what I want isn’t exactly happening. 

Could it be that He knows more about my needs than I do? Of course He does! But that doesn’t stop my human mind from fretting about not getting what I want.

And when I fret, I tend to mull things over in my mind until I’ve thought through every possible scenario and accomplished absolutely nothing.

I walk away from these mental sessions feeling a whole lot of worry and very little peace even though I know it doesn’t have to be this way.

After all, I have been instructed very plainly in Philippians 4:6-7 where I’m told “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Isn’t it amazing that God knows my future yet still encourages me to come to Him with my requests? He doesn’t need me to ask for what He already knows I need, what He already knows is in my future.

No, He wants me to ask so He can replace my worry with His peace.

Sometimes I get what I want.

That person who I have been worked up over, due to a lack of communication, suddenly reaches out to me. With just a few words, I find myself smiling again, happy that our relationship isn’t in the bad shape I thought it was in.

It takes so little to offer me that sense of relief.

Proverbs 12:25 explains this to me where I’m shown that “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”

Related: 5 Verses from Psalms for Anxiety

If one or two words from a loved one can bring me so much joy, how much more is mine for the taking just by reading the Word of God?

I read how Jesus, who clearly does know both the future and what lurks inside of everyone’s heart, was mistreated.

I read how He reacted to those who did things that definitely would have hurt my feelings.

But Jesus gave me the ultimate example when He loved those whose goal seemed to be only to hurt Him. He showed me how there is only one place to turn when He called out to the Father.

I want to fix things. It’s who I am. My name actually means “helper” which has always made me smile because it 100% describes who I am.

But I can’t always help, can’t always fix. That’s because it’s not my job to do more than I’m allowed to do.

When worry tries to replace hope, I need to remember what I’ve been told in Matthew 6:27 when Jesus asks, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

When I so clearly can see how everything “could” be “if only” certain things were in place, I need to think back on the truth of God telling me in Isaiah 55:8a-“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways..” which clearly relieves me of the responsibility of fixing everything.

I’ve been given my marching orders. I’ve been told what the greatest commandment of all is when Jesus told me in Matthew 22:37b to “love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your mind” before instructed me that a second commandment, found in the 39th verse of the same chapter, reminds me to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

It seems it’s simply a matter of focus.

If my heart is in tune with His, I will love others.

If I want what He wants, I will think less about what I want and more about how I can bless someone else.

If I am focused on seeing others the way Christ sees them, I will actually have what I thought I needed all along.

I will see that the future is about sharing the love of God, not about getting my own way.

I will see that deep in the heart of someone else, all they need is to feel the love, joy, and peace that can only come through a relationship with Jesus.

With my thoughts on eternity instead of the brief time of here and now that so easily consumes me, I will find myself richly rewarded by the Lord. 

After all, He has told me He knows the plans for my future. He has assured me that I don’t need to worry about a thing. And He has given me permission to bring my cares to Him because He knows that I need a place to cry out, a place to vent all my concerns.

When something happens in my life that makes me sad or makes me wonder if things will ever be okay, I’m so grateful to know that God has already made a way for me, that He already sees my entire future.

When I start to focus on what is inside someone else’s heart, I’m grateful that God gently reminds me to look within my own.

The only way I can do this is by using the Bible as a mirror. God will show me where I’m not like Him.

“God, see what is in my heart. Know what is there. Put me to the test. Know what I’m thinking. See if there’s anything in my life you don’t like. Help me live in the way that is always right.” 

Psalm 139:23-24
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Sandy Brannan

Sandy Brannan, author of Becoming Invisible, So Much Stays Hidden, Masquerade, and Frozen in Time, teaches middle and high school English. She is a regular contributing writer for Calla Press. She also is a contributing writer for The Real Deal of Parenting and Her View From Home. Sandy’s idea of a perfect day is one spent creating memories with her grandchildren. This usually includes coloring and reading a lot of books.

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Grab your coffee and stay awhile

Welcome to Salt + Sparrow, a place where we learn about Jesus, the Bible, and find big faith in small things.

Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth #faithquotes #christ Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth 

#faithquotes #christianmoms #truth #blessed #relationshipwithgod #prayer #christianmomma #christianlifestyle #christianity #faithblogger #christianmother #faithinmotion #faithblog #christianliving #christians #momsoffaith #biblestudy #jesusalways #faith #bibleverse #pray
Every single person you meet was created by, and l Every single person you meet was created by, and loved by God. 

Even the ones who have hurt you. 

Next time you’re tempted to act out in anger, or envy, or hurt.. stop for a moment and think.. how would Jesus behave in this situation? 

Learning to respond to others for who they are rather than what they’ve done… or the emotion their actions have triggered in you, will bring you peace and freedom. 

💛
.
.
.
.
.
#faithblogger #christianblogger #christianwomen #christianlifestyle
I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: Developing Resilience and Faith When Giving Up Isn’t an Option, by Bianca Juarez Olthoff. And it couldn’t have come into my life at a better time.

I think we’ve all gone through times in our life when failure has threatened to keep us down. When getting back up after yet another fall feels seemingly impossible.

And I hate to break it to you, but we will all face failure at some point in our lives. Sometimes repeatedly. But the really amazing thing about failure is that it give us options:

We can either let failure destroy our confidence and our faith and keep us from living up to our full potential.

Or we call view failure as another chance.

Embracing failure is a concept that may be difficult to adopt at first, but when we can view failure as a learning opportunity and quickly get back up on our feet, we win. It’s also a chance to turn to God and say hey.. here’s my weakness. And it’s only through our weaknesses that we can turn to God and find His strength.

So.. are you going to change the way you view failure? Or are you going to let it hold you back?

@biancaolthoff 

I'll link a giveaway for this book in stories so go check it out there!

#gritdontquit #gritdontquitbook #bookstagram #grit #christianbooks
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares "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." - Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

"This verse isn’t promising that bad things won’t happen. It simply reminds us nothing can touch us when we live in Christ Jesus. We might experience loss and hardship, but our ultimate destination is heavenly perfection. 

So today, if you are living consumed with fear, practice surrender.

Take a deep breath and know that no matter what, you are loved and you will be ok.

God is Big Enough to hold our biggest hurts and make them beautiful." 

@mrsheidivegh 

#christianmomma #christians #christianlifestyle #faithblogger #christianmother #faithblog #faithquotes #relationshipwithgod #faithinmotion #prayer #christianliving #christianmoms #momsoffaith #truth #christianity #blessed
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Matthew 28:20 CSB

"...And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

About

Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth #faithquotes #christ Amen 🙏🏻 @hertrueworth 

#faithquotes #christianmoms #truth #blessed #relationshipwithgod #prayer #christianmomma #christianlifestyle #christianity #faithblogger #christianmother #faithinmotion #faithblog #christianliving #christians #momsoffaith #biblestudy #jesusalways #faith #bibleverse #pray
Every single person you meet was created by, and l Every single person you meet was created by, and loved by God. 

Even the ones who have hurt you. 

Next time you’re tempted to act out in anger, or envy, or hurt.. stop for a moment and think.. how would Jesus behave in this situation? 

Learning to respond to others for who they are rather than what they’ve done… or the emotion their actions have triggered in you, will bring you peace and freedom. 

💛
.
.
.
.
.
#faithblogger #christianblogger #christianwomen #christianlifestyle
I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: I was recently gifted the book, Grit Don’t Quit: Developing Resilience and Faith When Giving Up Isn’t an Option, by Bianca Juarez Olthoff. And it couldn’t have come into my life at a better time.

I think we’ve all gone through times in our life when failure has threatened to keep us down. When getting back up after yet another fall feels seemingly impossible.

And I hate to break it to you, but we will all face failure at some point in our lives. Sometimes repeatedly. But the really amazing thing about failure is that it give us options:

We can either let failure destroy our confidence and our faith and keep us from living up to our full potential.

Or we call view failure as another chance.

Embracing failure is a concept that may be difficult to adopt at first, but when we can view failure as a learning opportunity and quickly get back up on our feet, we win. It’s also a chance to turn to God and say hey.. here’s my weakness. And it’s only through our weaknesses that we can turn to God and find His strength.

So.. are you going to change the way you view failure? Or are you going to let it hold you back?

@biancaolthoff 

I'll link a giveaway for this book in stories so go check it out there!

#gritdontquit #gritdontquitbook #bookstagram #grit #christianbooks
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares "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." - Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

"This verse isn’t promising that bad things won’t happen. It simply reminds us nothing can touch us when we live in Christ Jesus. We might experience loss and hardship, but our ultimate destination is heavenly perfection. 

So today, if you are living consumed with fear, practice surrender.

Take a deep breath and know that no matter what, you are loved and you will be ok.

God is Big Enough to hold our biggest hurts and make them beautiful." 

@mrsheidivegh 

#christianmomma #christians #christianlifestyle #faithblogger #christianmother #faithblog #faithquotes #relationshipwithgod #faithinmotion #prayer #christianliving #christianmoms #momsoffaith #truth #christianity #blessed
God had already been speaking to me for some time God had already been speaking to me for some time about how my desire to control the details and direction of my life was getting in the way of my trust in Him and my submission to Him.

The fear of not being in control had stolen my contentment, joy, and peace. So many opportunities and relationships had been strangled or suffocated due to the struggle for control.

The Lord had been directing me to practice putting my full trust in Him.

While I used to spend much of my energy worrying and controlling, God began teaching me to put all of that effort into trusting Him instead.

Friends, as I look back over my life, I cannot think of one time that I regret surrendering to God and yielding control to Him. Was it difficult and painful? Indeed it was.

Did I take it back untold times, having to surrender again and again? You bet.

But this I’ve discovered: as we lean into our powerlessness and His sovereignty, we experience new levels of freedom and joy.

Once upon a time, I would have thought that losing control was the worst thing that could happen to me. Now I know that releasing it was what I needed most.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to yield this new area of control to you– I surrender myself and all of my brokenness. Guide me and remind me each day to put my full effort into trusting You.

@jamiedesilvia 

Full post on saltsparrow.com

 #pray #faith #prayer #bibleverse #biblestudy #bibleversedaily #faithinmotion #faithblogger #christianmomma #jesusalways #faithblog #faithquotes #christianmoms #christianmother #christianlife #christianlifestyle #momsoffaith #christianliving #relationshipwithgod #christians #faithbased #momswhoreadthebible
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