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The Great Plan

            Julian of Norwich (The Revelation of Divine Love) says it best when she writes For by the great deed that our Lord shall do He shall save His word in all things and He shall make well all that is not well—though how it shall be done no creature below Christ knows or shall know until it is done.  God is at work in every moment of each of our lives.  God’s work goes on whether we are aware of it or not.  Most of the time, I am unaware of God’s great work.   
            I love it when a familiar passage of Scripture brings fresh understanding.  I became more in awe of God’s work as I realized how incredible His work is while reading Acts 2.  Acts 2:5 says, Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  This one verse opened up so many realities to God’s great plans for us and helped me feel more secure in trusting in Him.
            First of all God had nudged His own from every nation under heaven to be in Jerusalem for Passover.  We can laugh at the reality of mother guilt, but don’t you just imagine generation after generation of moms and parents had taught their children that God’s plan was for them to go to Jerusalem in their lifetimes?  Though these Jewish people (when the New Testament refers to Jews, it indicates the devout and religious type) had moved into every nation under heaven, they were compelled to travel to Jerusalem.  For that particular Passover and Pentecost, God had compelled Jews from every nation under heaven to make the difficult and laborious journey to Jerusalem.  They could not have avoided hearing about the crucifixion of Jesus even if they had never heard about Him before the season of Passover.  Whether they gave any credibility to what they undoubtedly heard about Jesus’ rising from the dead or whether they were preoccupied with their once-in-a-lifetime experience of being in Jerusalem, I am not sure.  What I am sure of is that the sounds coming out of that upper room attracted their attention, and suddenly they heard their own languages spoken in perfect cadence explaining the reality of the Jesus they may have heard about and discarded as of no importance.  The demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit changed their minds, and many of them were saved after Peter’s sermon that day.
            What happened was awe-inspiring to say the least.  It makes me wonder about all the planning God put into that experience.  I think about all the previous generations of God-fearing Jews who never stopped obeying God’s call to come to Jerusalem to worship Him.  I’m completely astounded by how ready they were to receive the news of the Gospel and understand the witness that they could bring into the entire world.  The 120 faithful believers in the upper room and the God-fearing Jews who were in Jerusalem that Passover season show us how we too fit in God’s plan.  God is counting on us to pick up where they left off.  We are called to continue to witness until the day that Jesus returns for us.
            God has it all planned, and He is constantly at work making that plan come together.  He has planned for me to see His work and join Him in what He is doing through my life.  He is a great God worthy of all my praise and wonder!
Copyright © 2011.  Deborah. R. Newman www. teatimeforyoursoul.com .  All Rights Reserved

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