Have you ever wondered what is in a book that is for you?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 13, 2023

Have you ever wondered what is in a book that is for you? What will it provide you with that you are hoping for? I know I do that all the time. Sure I read the back of the book and reviews by others, but I am always looking for that "thing" that I want to read.

Do you want a different outlook on your own life? Struggle with wondering why something happened to you? Wonder why you are suffering and help is impossible to find? Do you wonder why God allowed it to happen, or worse, did God do it to you?

Let's start with the last question. If you are dealing with #PTSD, then that is the usual question all of us ask afterward. Once the gratefulness wears off, we start to search for why it happened to us. I know I was grateful I survived every time. I felt God was watching over me. I was also grateful for the people that came to help me after it was over. That's a lot considering I survived over 10 times!

Then came the struggle to get past the fact it happened to me at all. Why me? I'd read books on how other people survived and thought God had greater plans for them, so He saved their lives. I wanted to believe that. I also read books on how some thought it was all part of a test like Job went through.

People get that lesson wrong all the time. Sure, God allowed Satan to attempt to destroy Job by taking away everything he had. All the things that He had thanked God for, became a struggle wondering why God was doing it to him.

We're not Job. I know my faith isn't as strong as he was and I am certainly not special. The part all of us miss is that God gave Job what he had and it was Satan taking it away. It is the same thing with us.

God has plans for all of us when He sends our souls here. Our souls come into us when we take our first breath. In it is all that makes us what we are, or what we were intended to become. When we know what that is, we know what we're supposed to do on this earth. When we don't, we struggle. When we don't understand the nature of our souls, we take on more trouble than we need to carry.

This passage explains something we need to know the true meaning of. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 That gets interrupted wrong a lot of the time and adds to our wounds. The plans from God are good but what does not enter into our thoughts is the simple fact that Satan wants to mess up with God's plans all the time. He gets in the way as much as possible and uses others to do it. They do the evil stuff to us. On the flip side, those who have not surrendered what is good within them, are the ones showing up to help us.

When they come to help us, they come to help us do whatever it is we're supposed to do here. When we show up to help someone, we use everything we learned to help others. Why? Because we know what it is like to fight off evil but above that, we know what it is like to win!

Throughout the series, all the characters are survivors and struggled with their faith. They are spiritual people, not religious ones. Sure they are Christians but follow the Jesus type of Christianity and pray as they live, by the spirit. They do not attend church services but pray outside. They do not simply quote scriptures as if they have no meaning at all, but live by them. Most of what is in these books are things you'll never hear in church because no one wants to hold power or control anyone. They leave that in God's hands. They seek to do good and join forces to achieve what no one expected could happen.