The Author of Our Journey

In all of the stories, musings & lessons that are spoken in this space, the goal is to Declare the glory of the Lord. He is moving & working in people's lives all around this world. Today, So That God has a guest blogger. I am excited to share with you the journey of a sweet friend - Marielly. She & her husband are a beautiful example of humbleness and submission to the Lord's will. I pray that her words encourage you.

"The Lord has done great things in us and

we are filled with joy"

Psalm 126:3

Five years ago if you would have asked me what I pictured my life to be like now I would have described something completely different from what I am living. The journey here has not been easy but I wouldn't change any of it for the world.

Contrary to popular belief a perfect flawless prosperous life is not the definition of Christianity. In fact as we read scripture we learn it is far from that. This is one of the hardest truths I had to learn in my walk with Christ. Years ago I truly believed everything in my life would just be fine because I was walking in pursuit of Christ. As a result, this created in me the false expectation of what to envision for my life and how to relate to my savior. I figured all my plans will come pass, and all my desires would sooner or later be granted because I was serving Jesus.

You can imagine my surprise when things quickly began to derail from my plans and I was faced with giants, trials, fears, and moments that brought me to question my faith.

All this however, was part of God's perfect plan. His word teaches us in Psalm 37:4 that if we "take delight in the Lord he will give you the desires of your heart". We are usually quick to look at the promise part of this verse but not at the call to action. We are first told to delight ourselves in the Lord and as a result of that he will grant us the desires of our hearts.

Why is this important? Well, because when we delight in His presence and in His word our hearts, souls, and desires are molded and transformed by Him! What we might have been dreaming about initially might be completely different once we are under his presence and guidance. This intimacy we encounter with our creator quickly changes the lens through which we see life and as a result we see how our own selfish plans, dreams and desires are altered.

Today, my husband and I are taking giant leaps of faith we never thought we would take. On January 1, 2017 at 12:01 am we launched our ministry called "Greater Than" with a vision “to reach the least of these by He who is greater than.” We are currently connecting with self sustainable ministries around the world that are effectively and passionately reaching their community. This November we will be traveling with a team to Ghana, Africa to bless a village named “AVUNU”. We will be sponsoring the building of a water well, a school, and a church for the village. The ministry we have partnered with to accomplish this is local and will continue to take care of this village by teaching them the word of God in hopes that their chief will receive Christ and renounce his idols. Once the chief converts the village is sure to follow.

To the outside world looking in might think our life is just amazing, but it has been a difficult journey. My husband and I have both struggled with our relationship with God, our professional dreams, our finances, our faith and even our marriage. Through it all we have learned that the only thing that has remained and will continue to remain true is the word of God. God’s word has been our rock through it all, and it is his grace that has brought us this far.

In the end, I would like to motivate you to push onward and place your eyes on Christ. It is awesome to have dreams and plans on what you want to do with your life. However, do not confuse a change in those plans at times with distraction, because it might be Christ pointing you in a direction you never thought you would take. We must allow God to be the potter as we are his clay. So, if you are praying for God to be in control of your life don’t be quick to take the chisel from his hands when he begins to take and give what you did not ask for. Believe that he is in every step that you take and be quick to take those leaps of faith because it is written:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

Corinthians 2:9

Marielly Ramirez

Co-founder of Greater Than Ministries