In him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11) You are not an afterthought to God.

Welcome to His Encouragement: Thankful Thursdays

Every Thursday I will be using scripture to bring you some encouragement along with some other sister bloggers I recently joined.

As soon as you have read this post you will find links to other encouraging posts. Be sure to take a look and glean from them as you head into the weekend.

You are not an afterthought.

I’m not an animal person at all. As a matter of fact, you can say that I am afraid of animals. It doesn’t matter if it’s a babe or full-grown I don’t want it anywhere near me. There is not a single animal I can think of that’s not scary to me. Even cute little puppies and kittens. Yeah, I know, I’m a very weird one.

Despite my fear of animals, I dislike seeing them suffer. I just can’t stand idly by and watch someone torture any animal or see an animal fight. I’m not wired that way. I have been close, many times to see a new litter of puppies enters into the world and I am always fascinated with the runt of the family.

Sometimes he or she doesn’t have the strength to get in with all the others and feed and he just gets smaller and weaker. Other times the mother nips at him and sometimes she may even try to eat her. It is always so sad. It is always a happy moment when the human owner has the time, resources, and energy to care for the little runt and coax him to eat and keep moving forward. Many times, they even outgrow their siblings and that goes to show how instrumental love and care are.

The runt is usually overlooked and forgotten but that’s not how our God is, no one is an afterthought to him.

You may feel like you are far away from his presence but I promise you that he hasn’t moved from where you left him. Be comforted in the fact that when God designed this world, he had you in mind. Whether you came to Jesus 10 years ago or 10 days ago he has each one of you in mind. His plans are above our own and his thoughts are far more advanced than anyone else can comprehend.

From our key verse today, it is clearly stated that you are not an afterthought. God has provided an inheritance for all those that love and trust in him. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he told us that he was going to prepare a place for us that will be grander than anything we can conjure or think of in our imagination or on this earth.

When it mentions that we have obtained this inheritance, it has nothing to do with what we do or don’t deserve. Many times, we are quick to say well, “I shouldn’t be spoken to this way” or “How could Mary get recognition without recognizing me and what I have done.” It has nothing to do with us at all.

Everyone has to do one thing to obtain this inheritance and it is to accept the provision of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. This inheritance became our birthright, the moment we were born again in the family of God.

It’s up to you now.

As we think on our predestination, be encouraged that you were chosen by God, according to his will and not because of anything that you have done. He created you, he chose you and he has predestinated you. You are not an afterthought.

Leave a comment and let me know if you think I’m weird for not liking animals. Then let me know what you will be taking away from this word of encouragement.

God bless,

Keneesha 🙂

Check out more Thursday Encouragement from my fellow blogger friends:

Nicole @ The Christian Fiction Girl

Trisha @ Joy of Reading

Jacquelyn @ A Heavenly Home

Jessica @ A Baker’s Perspective

Becca @ The Becca Files

Gina @ Stories by Gina

Rebecca @ Rev. Rebecca Writes

Andi @ Radiant Light

Leslie @ Words of Hope

Claudia @ Claudia Moser

Hi there, are you a blogger? Would you like to join us in sharing encouragement from the Word of God every Thursday? Don’t be shy! Contact Trisha or Nicole today! 

P.S. These awesome blog sites have all the latest fiction book reviews if you are somewhat like me and love reading.