Who Would Be Our Leader?
By Lisa Boyer
‘“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11
When I tell my faith story, it usually isn’t about the day I accepted Jesus as my Savior. It’s about what God did in my life after that; it’s about His taking a broken little girl, showing her she was loved and planned for, and putting her heart back together.
A few years ago, I shared my story with the junior high girls in my small group. After I finished, I asked the girls if they had any questions. Hands flew up and after a question or two about my time in a foster home, one of the girls asked “When you said you wouldn’t have survived, what did you mean by that?”
The part of my testimony she was referring to was I read my Bible every day starting when I was 14. I not only knew about God, but I knew Him personally…my relationship with Him gave me hope when I couldn’t find any in life. If it hadn’t been for Him, I wouldn’t have survived. It was difficult to admit out loud, even after all those years, but after a brief pause I said, “I probably would have killed myself.”
I’ll never forget the question she asked next, “But then who would be our leader?” I sat there in stunned silence…unable to answer the question as another girl said, “I would have missed you. I wouldn’t have known you, but I would have known something was missing in my life.”
Never could I have imagined during those dark moments in my life when I felt as though no one cared if I lived or died that someone in the future would have missed me. I couldn’t have imagined it, but God knew.
God knew my life wasn’t just the moment I was living in but it was also the future. In those dark moments, I chose to put my hope in God and He held my hand and walked me into the future - - the future He had planned for me.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Are you struggling with the circumstances of your life? Will you put your hope in God and let Him lead you today?
2. Can you share the hope found in Jesus with someone today?
FURTHER READING:
Romans 8:34, 35; Proverbs 23:18, 19
Lisa has been married to Ted for 19 years and they have two teenage sons. Lisa administers Fresh Start’s Facebook and blog, and loves hanging out with and impacting teenage girls for Christ.
