‘God knew before you were born the plans he had for you. He even knew what door you would walk through and the doors you would pass by. But, luckily for us stubborn children, God allows second, third and even fourth chances (sometimes even more, I know from experience). He will allow us to choose on our own. No other deity, has ever given their subjects a chance to choose. But, the One True God is a gentleman and He will not force us to do things we don’t want to do. And He will even take us into His loving arms when we screw up and cry, ‘Abba, Father’ because He loves us.
I remember as a child a store on the corner. Every day, after school, I went to buy something for someone in my father’s office. A soda, a candy bar, a pack of gum. Every day, the store owner offered me a treat. Every day, I refused saying ‘No thank you.’ But, one day, he did not offer, and that was the day that I wanted it. When I returned to my father’s office, he asked me ‘Son, where did you get the money for that?’ I told him the truth. I had nothing to fear telling my father the truth. I tried to explain that every day the owner of the store offered it to me, and he tried to explain that taking it without permission was stealing and wrong. Did my father yell? No. Did my father get upset? No. Was my father disappointed? Maybe, but he taught me a lesson in forgiveness that day. He took me by the hand and lead me to the store. I apologized to the owner and paid for the treat with my own money. Afterwards, Daddy took me in his arms and hugged me saying, ‘Son. You can come to me for anything. I will always love you. You might not make the right choice, but I will never stop loving you.’
That day, my Daddy modeled for me what our Heavenly Father is like. If I have a problem, I go to him and crawl into his arms. He will never leave me or forsake me. I will not despair because my Heavenly Father knows the plans he has for me. They are plans for good and not for evil. They are plans to lift me up, not put me down. All I have to do is choose the path he has laid before me.’
