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Thursday, January 7, 2010

An Appointment with God

Some of you may have already read this. I got it in an e-mail from Joanne, of Blessed. She was so touched by this after reading it in her TD Jakes devotional Bible, that she sent it out to some of us. It's such a great message about the purpose God has for us, I wanted to share it too. I hope you are as blessed by it as I was.

Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." Genesis 4:25

You have an appointment with God that has been set from the foundations of the earth, and that appointment isn't over until God says it's over. You may think that all of your good days are gone, but the very fact that you are alive says God wants you to be alive. He is not through with you yet. You have an appointment.
Even after all she had been through with Cain and Abel, Eve still had an appointment with God. In spite of everything she had experienced, all the heartache and hard times she had known, she had an appointed task. Eve said, "God has appointed another seed for me" (Gen. 4:25). her appointment involved having another baby, another son.
When you make an appointment, you set a date and a time in the present for something that is going to happen in the future. And that's exactly what God has done in setting His appointment with you. God's destiny for you is preset. He has known all along that you would go through what you've been through to get to the place where you are right now. Even so, He still has an appointment with you. He has not cancelled out. There's still something on His calendar that has your name on it.
The devil knows God has a plan for you. That's why he has worked so hard to wipe you out. He didn't want you to live long enough to receive all that God had in store for you. He knew there was more ahead. He knew it was good. He knew it had to do with life. That's why he tried so hard to deal you a deathblow early on. He sent trials, troubles and tribulations to destroy you-and if you refused to be destroyed on the outside, he tried even harder to destroy you on the inside.
Start looking ahead. There's something coming up on God's calendar and it's got YOUR name on it. There's something good just over the horizon of tomorrow-something good for your life, your marriage, your family, your work, your ministry. For everything you have loved and lost, God has another seed. For everything you can no longer hold, God has another seed.
Every time the devil tells you that you are going down, that you are going to die, that you are going to cave in, that there's nothing else for you, tell him, "You are a liar. There's got to be something else. I have an appointment with God. He has another seed for me to birth. He has another miracle for me to hold."
Where you are right now is not where you are going. If you are not on your deathbed, God still has an appointed task for you to finish. He has called you with an eternal purpose. -T.D. Jakes

27 comments:

Unknown said...

That is a good devotional, great reminder for all of us

Darla said...

oh that.is.good. Thank you for posting that! I felt as though it was just for me, and every sentence was relevant. I have thought many times that my good times are done...not so i guess. that is GOOD NEWs!

Brenda said...

That's good thoughts, Mari. One of my favorite scriptures is the one that says, He orders our steps. If I'm obedient, I'll be headed in the right direction always.
God bless.

Jenny said...

Thanks for this great word today, Mari! I needed it.

Unknown said...

That was totally meant for me. There are times when I feel hopeless in my joblessness yet, someone somewhere (like you) shares something profound and it touches the spot that I need. Thank you.

Susan said...

AMEN!!! The Bible speaks of a "set time" and "for such a time as this" and "seed time & harvest" etc. etc. Glad you shared this great word.
Susan

Penny said...

I love this. =)

My meds are singulair and some inhaler. It's a blue one, if that helps. I was on all types of inhalers as a kid -- pink ones, circle ones, yellow ones (at separate times, of course). And I had to take Slobid (spelling?) for a while. I remember I was too young to be able to swallow a pill well, so my mom would put the med in ice cream. YUM!!!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful devotional. Thank you for posting that today I really needed that!

Kim said...

Wow - thanks for this one. I am going to print it off and give it to a family member. Thanks again ~

Kim

Pat said...

Oh Mari, you must know how deeply this would touch me. Yesterday was the funeral for my 3O year old cousin who took his own life. If only he'd realized the truth to this devotional, that God truly does have plans for us till that day HE calls us home.
Thank you for sharing this. I will print it up and keep it.

Brooke said...

we all need to keep ours ears perked up for the plan. most of the time its either wispered, or we have ear muffs on because we don't wanna hear it!!

Aliene said...

Came across your blog and I needed it badly. We have lost 5 family members in 2009. But God had His appointed time. I kept telling myself that while watched my Mom pass over to the otherside.

Heart2Heart said...

Mari,

Truly what a great reminder this was. I was just telling my husband last night that I can't wait to see just what God has planned for us this year.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Lara said...

Great devotional. Thank you for posting Mari.

septembermom said...

I gained much from this devotional. Thank you for sharing Mari. I love the idea of looking ahead and thinking about God's calendar.

Heidi said...

I believe I had an appointment with God this evening and it went very well.

Nice to see you in the bookstore the other day- when I see you, it's like wow! bloggers really are real people!! Good meeting your daughter, as well.

Blessings,
Heidi

Joanne@ Blessed... said...

Mari,

Reading comments from everyone has touched me deeply. So happy the words shared here have been a blessing to so many. Looks like I may have to post this one myself.

Blessings Friend.

Connie said...

An appointment with God - sounds exciting doesn't it? Sometime I wonder if we miss some of his "appointments" because we are so busy doing our own thing. Good food for thought.

Anonymous said...

Love love love that!!! Thanks so much!! Really I needed that soooooo much right now:)

Jean said...

Wow, Mari, the timing of this is truly amazing. Just this afternoon I was sitting in my car for a long time before going into the grocery store, as I had a heart to heart conversation with God. Some of the very things I prayed and claimed for this year are in this devotional. Thank you so much for sharing this. (I see you posted this two days ago, but I just read it today. Wow.)

TJ said...

I am so thankful that we are in God's hands and He will never leave us.

Cathy said...

That is really neat and encouraging, Mari. Thanks for sharing it. I really like T.D. Jakes. Blessings ~

Shelly said...

Just wanted to let you know that the Jane you sent my way has not came yet.

Mindy said...

This was a good reminder and timely for me, given hubby just having a heart proceedure. I sometimes get so discouraged with him being a non-believer, and I forget that even though I may not see it, God is still working on him just as He is me.Thanks for the reminder.

Mary said...

Mari,

This is a powerful post and one that is absolutely true. Even those on their deathbeds sometimes have something else to do before they depart this world. I know that one person who was dying made a huge impact on a relative that visited. The visit changed their life. We never know when we have just one more appointment with God.

Powerful and inspiring post.

Even at -7F it was a nice day to venture out to see the swans. The area was very busy with all types of waterfowl, so didn't get any really excellent photos.

Blessings,
Mary

Crown of Beauty said...

This is such a direct, specific, and timely message for my heart, Mari.

Thank you for sharing it.

I continue to thank you for the encouragement that you have been to me, by reguarly leaving such good and inspiring messages for me on my blog.

Please know that you are loved and appreciated.

Praying for you...

Love
Lidj

Krista said...

I love it! Just what I needed today...