My respond to an email earlier today. When I wrote them the following, their reply was Rom 8:28-39, an all time favorite. I prefer not to borrow passages of scripture. I feel that it is more personal and sincere to share from how I had experienced the word and learned from it.
In a world of church mates instead of brothers and sisters, we rarely point specifically to our testimonial experience of the word. To be practical, we have become more private and compensating, we need to be more gracious. We tend to write as below. As our effort increase, so we need even more grace from God.
Looks like there are big changes ahead for both of you. May both of you come out as gold through testing times.
Your plan is good. I can't think of anything better but I am also reminded of George Muller's good plans and how God changed them. Whenever he does that, his plan wouldn't look attractive rationally and emotionally. Its superiority would take many years to prove because his ways are beyond us. So be prepared with prayer and an open mind as Peter also did before going to see Cornelius.
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In the end, we make plans because God gives us a mind to use. Those who don't use it are lazy. We make plans so that we might surrender them to him and let him be Lord over and over again. Each of us must work our land as Adam also had, but we will have to look to him for the sun and the rains appearing at the right time. When working, we do it like there is no God. When we stopped either to rest or because they are done, we view our work as nothing unless he blesses it.
Work hard, work well so that we may give them all up to him. By grace, Abel only needed to offer the best to the Lord when what was required was all he had got.
