Whose Plan Is it Anyway?

You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail. - (Proverbs 19:21 NLT)

Most of us have plans about how our lives will go. We have made plans to marry, having kids, some have planned on going to school, getting a great paying job with great benefits, and etc. We want the dream. We plan to live a good life and hopefully we are able to accomplish all the things we have on our bucket list before the Lord calls us heavenward bound.

We make mistakes, we fail, we succeed, we cry, we worry, we complain, we are happy, we are joyous. It's an uphill, downhill, steady movement. The journey is not easy nor is it always pleasant. we are constantly finding out that we are weak in one area or another. If you are like me you do ALOT of self-reflection, criticism and fear creeps in. You almost become paralyzed and can't breathe without feeling the pain of life. However, still you plan. Because no matter how hard it is, the pain of staying where you are is more unbearable than the pain of growing and moving forward. 

Jeremiah told Israel that because of their chooses God had to punish them. It's wasn't because he hated them but because they were unwilling to repent. They heard what Jeremiah said but choose to believe those that told them things they wanted to hear. However, Jeremiah keep speaking God's truth, even though it got him thrown into prison. He stood for what was right. Israel did go to captivity and they did have to pay for their mistakes and wrong choices. However, they great thing about it was God did not leave them without hope.

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ -  (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NASB)

My personal observation is that it's not that God does not want us to plan. It is, however, that he wants us to consult with him before we plan.  There is a saying, want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans. this is not entirely true. I think God cries when we try to make decisions without Him because He knows that He will have to get us back in line with His purpose and many times that requires exposure and punishment. 

The Bible says in Proverbs, "To acknowledge Him in ALL our ways and He will direct our path." the key is to acknowledge Him in everything thing. then we will know that we are following His directives and His purpose will be fulfilled without all the heartache and pain. 

You are Bound No More. 


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International 
Booklindahillman@gmail.com 

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Will You Be Made Whole 
In The Meantime

Phillippines Chronicles: When God Speaks! Part 1

So on April 21, 2015, I was on my way to SFO to go on a missions trip to the Philippines with my Sister and Friend Evangelist Rein Johnson. the flight has had been booked since late February early March. When I tell you God opened doors that I could not even imagine so I could get the money to go...I mean it. Had God not intervened on my behalf, I would have still been working on raising the money.

Listen, Not only did God supply the money for the plane ticket there and back, He made a way fo the Hotel to be covered, and when I found out that I needed a Visa for China because we had an extended layover, God supplied the money for that too. So needless to say this Chicka was on cloud nine and rising. I was thankful to everyone that sowed a seed or donated so that I could get the immunizations, bug spray, and other items needed.

Let me just tell the story about the Malaria pills because this is just a glimpse of what God was doing on my behalf. I went to my doctor to get a physical. I had been sick with bronchitis and I just want him to tell me I was cleared to travel this was about two and half  weeks before we were expected to leave. My doctor said all was well and prescribed me a cough medicine to help with my lingering cough. He also gave me some antibiotics to clear up any viral infection. I told him about my trip to the Philippines and he told me that I needed to get the immunizations, even though they were recommended, I should because I was getting over bronchitis and needed all the immune boost I could get. So that day I went to public health and got my Typhoid shot. but the Malaria immunization was not a shot but pills and my doctor should have prescribed them. So I called my doctor to see if I could get the prescription ans was told I needed to drop by so the doctor could see me before he prescribed them. So the next day i drove out there and my doctor prescribed them. this was on a Friday.

So, about four hours later I was running errands so I went to Walgreen's to see if my prescription was ready and was told that the prescription would be ready on Monday. I asked what the cost would be and they told me it would cost 79.00. I took a deep breath. It dawned on me later that Walgreen's did not have my insurance on file and evangelist rein said that her prescription for the Malaria Pills was free.  So I said, "Lord let it be for me too."

On Monday, I get a call that my prescription is ready. So I put it on my calendar to go Tuesday to pick up.

Stay tuned for more of this story tomorrow.

You are Bound No More.

Pastor Linda Hillman
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International
Booklindahillman@gmail.com 

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Will You Be Made Whole 
In The Meantime

Lost And Searching For Answers: Love and Faith is the key!

I want to talk to you today about a subject that touches every one of us, young, old, male or female...LOSS.

Sometimes we are faced with things we think we just cant handle; the death of a beloved father, mother, sister, brother, child, spouse etc... but what happens when the loss we feel is the loss of self? What happens when we lose who we are? Whether it is beaten out of us, snatched from us, or we give it away. How do we recover from this loss?

We may strive to find the reasons behind it, but when those reasons don't make sense or add up, we question God. We look up to the heavens and say, "God, how could You do this to me? How did You allow this to happen? Why do I have to suffer with so much pain in my life? How can You put so much on my plate? Why do I have to suffer at all? Why Me? What did I ever do to You to deserve this?" We might even go as far as becoming angry with God and blaming Him for the evil that has befallen us.

The real point is this... we don't operate on God's timetable nor do we have a true understanding of His ways and thoughts. We allow the fear of the unknown to cloud our judgment and even the most logical theories fly out of the window. We would rather think a loving God is punishing us, and that a God that gave up His own life so that we might live, somehow hates us. Even though His word is true and He speaks only of how much He loves us. 

In the world we live in, how could we even begin to understand His plans and purposes for our existence? So we look to other things to add value to us. Thus, we lose ourselves even more. OH, we say, we are trying to find our purpose because somewhere we have lost our worth. That tragedy, we survived, has stripped away our happiness, left us with no joy, scattered our peace. We are lost, broken and devalued.

My friend, let me tell you, this is where FAITH comes in and begins to play a huge role in our healing and restoration. Faith helps us to see His message in the darkness of our caves of despair. Faith beckons us to believe again, to hope again, to search for the truth of God's love for and toward us. Faith requires us to love through the pain of loss. Faith tells us that God's message has never changed. This loss is there to teach us not to take the ones we love for granted while they are with us. To love hard and deep. It is there to teach us that we should love ourselves enough to want better for our lives. We should love ourselves enough to search for the treasures God placed in us the moment we were conceived and not to let anyone speak over us what He has not already spoken.

Faith says even the mundane has purpose. Even the fleeting moments are to be cherished. The solitude that comes in those glimpses of hope, should be embraced. As I reflect on the pain we feel when we lose who we are in a hurricane of issues and strife, I am reminded what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Faith breeds love. First, love God with your very being, Secondly, love yourself unconditionally, and then it spills over to mankind. It also reminds me that God is love; therefore there is no ill will in Him concerning you. He desires to see you prosper and walk in your expected end even if you never had a relationship with Christ. You cant be angry with a God that only wants the best for you. All He has is love to give.

He only requires us to love as fiercely, as bravely and as compassionately as we can and in that love, that human love, to allow faith to grow. Faith that allows us to forgive, and to continue to love unconditionally. As we find the peace of who we are once again, the pain of loss lessens and the joy of live emerges.

Today I challenge you to take a chance on FAITH and LOVE. Let your life begin again.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2015 Living Above Hurt Ministries  

Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

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Through the scripture and the story of the woman with an issue of blood, Linda Hillman moves past the obvious, more common meaning of the text to a revelatory truth: GOD would not have us live unbalanced and incomplete lives. In her book WILL YOU BE MADE WHOLE, Linda reveals just how crucial balance is in every area of your life. Through scripture, practical principles and faith, Linda shows the reader how to get back on track when life derails. In Linda’s own words—“The one thing I have discovered in my life is that the pains I have had to endure were not to take me out of the game but to polish me for the end result.” Get your copy today and be made whole! 

Get your Copy now!

In today’s microwave society, we want everything in an instant. And we want it now. Between instant gratification and a sense of entitlement, we often forget that GOD is GOD and HIS will be done. We can’t lag behind HIM and we surely can’t jump ahead of HIM. Linda Hillman’s new book, IN THE MEANTIME, addresses this very subject—waiting upon GOD. 

Through vignettes of the Prophet Elijah’s life, Linda reveals GOD’s plan for waiting upon HIM. This concise but rich study provides insight into the character of GOD and how HE takes us through steps of preparation, motivation and confirmation in getting us through our seasons of waiting. The beauty and truth of Linda’s message is that you can have the same glorious breakthrough as Elijah had.