{"id":227964,"date":"2023-11-15T16:56:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T21:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/?p=227964"},"modified":"2024-08-09T14:15:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T18:15:13","slug":"your-circumstances-dont-dictate-your-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/your-circumstances-dont-dictate-your-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Circumstances Don\u2019t Dictate Your Future"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cGod, what am I supposed to do?\u201d I prayed through tears as I rocked my newborn. Fresh off the heels of a divorce, I was devastated and desperate to understand what good could come from my worst nightmare. I had so many dreams and goals for my life, and being a single mom was not one of them. As I continued to beg Him to show me what\u2019s next, I heard Him say \u201cshare your story\u201d\u2026 \u201cWait, what?\u201d I thought, \u201cummm God, my story is a hot mess. My circumstances aren\u2019t going to encourage anyone\u2026. Why would you want me to share it?\u201d<\/p>\n

The truth is, I was riddled with shame. Being a pregnant woman in the Bible belt meant I was constantly asked about \u201cmy husband\u201d, only to be reminded and have to inform well meaning strangers (many, many times) that I didn\u2019t have one. Why would God want me to share this on my platform? I vividly remember Him saying \u201cyour story isn\u2019t about you\u2026 but what you allow Me to do through you.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, I did. Even though my current circumstance didn\u2019t look promising to the world, I shared the hope that God had given me through Ephesians 3:20\u2026 that even in your toughest seasons, even when life wasn\u2019t going according to your plans, you could trust that He would do \u201cabundantly more\u201d than you could ask, think, or imagine. As I walked in obedience with sharing my story and the truth about who God is despite what our circumstances look like, He continued to open doors to opportunities I could have never thought to ask for, and put me in rooms I couldn\u2019t have dreamed of.<\/p>\n

What He has continued to teach me and convict me in is this \u2013 your circumstances don\u2019t dictate your future. If anything, it\u2019s His kindness to bring us low, teaching us how to steward what He\u2019s given us, and how to depend on Him when we have a little, before raising us up to walk in the abundance He has for us.<\/p>\n

Still, I found myself often asking for more. I had big dreams, big plans, and more belief than ever that He could bring them to fruition. Now, it\u2019s one thing to make your requests known to God, and it\u2019s another to fixate on them, ignoring what He\u2019s given you for the things you want Him to. As I prayed for the abundance I knew He had in store, He whispered\u2026 \u201cif I answered your prayers tomorrow\u2026 would you be ready?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Friend, have you ever found yourself wanting what God has for you so badly, that you view your current circumstance as something that\u2019s preventing you from it rather than preparing you for it? Yeah, same. What encourages me in these moments is the story of Joseph and how overnight, God took him from prison, to a position of power.<\/p>\n

Joseph had a pretty \u201cunfair\u201d life, yet continued to faithfully serve his fellow prisoners with his gift of dream interpretation – even after being forgotten about by the cup bearer. Two years later the cup bearer remembered, and Joseph was summoned by Pharaoh to interpret his dream, which resulted in him being put in a position of power over Egypt.<\/p>\n

Did you read that? Overnight, Joseph went from being in prison, which I could imagine felt like rock bottom, to being recognized for his God-given gifts and set in a place of power by the Pharaoh. The difficult seasons he endured was not a punishment – it was preparation – and the same is true for you. Even at your lowest, the Lord is preparing you for something better than you could ask, think, or imagine. Trust me, I know when things don\u2019t go according to plan, it\u2019s easiest to focus on our disappointment, which is where the enemy sneaks in and plants seeds of fear, self-doubt, regret, bitterness, resentment, or whatever else you\u2019re wrestling with right now. I\u2019m begging you – do not let them take root. This very season has a supernatural purpose, to prepare you for something better.<\/p>\n

I want to challenge you today to consider – if, like Joseph, your situation were to change to best case scenario tomorrow, what would you do differently today? How would you carry yourself, what would you prioritize, and where would you spend your time? I know it can be tempting to make a plan to get out of your current situation\u2026 but I need you to believe with me that God\u2019s going to do something even better. He\u2019s going to elevate your faith, and your future through it.<\/p>\n

Two years after sharing my story online, God has not only completely changed my circumstances and allowed me to use the gifts He\u2019s given me for a living, He reconciled the marriage of my ex-husband and I, and we live as a family with our almost 3 year old in Nashville, Tennessee. He has truly done abundantly more than my wildest imagination \u2013 and it\u2019s His kindness to do it in a way I could never take credit for myself.<\/p>\n

I would have laughed (and cried) if you had told me years ago that now, I\u2019m grateful that I experienced the pain, struggle and heartbreak that I did. I can see how it was perfect preparation for empathizing with and encouraging women going through a struggle I never would have otherwise understood. I\u2019m able to fight for my marriage and the marriages of others with a passion I never would have had. I can be a cheerful, generous giver \u2013 with gratitude I wouldn\u2019t have if my card had never gotten declined at the grocery store while holding my newborn.<\/p>\n

I promise you, friend. He has a bright, abundant future planned for you, and each day you feel far from it is an opportunity to ask Him \u201cwhat do you have for me today?\u201d. It will stretch you beyond your comfort zone and force you to go deeper in your faith than you ever would have if life had gone according to your plan but I promise you\u2026 His plans are so much better than you could imagine.<\/p>\n

Share your story. Trust His plan. Take the leap of faith. And if you need a friend along the way\u2026 you know where to find me.<\/p>\n

Sarah Hallas Lima is an author, speaker and founder of Abundantly More Community, a space for women to connect, be poured into and empowered to walk in the fullness God has for you. After seeing the power of social media radically change her life and impact millions of others, she now helps multi-passionate entrepreneurs steward their social media platforms and use their God-given gifts to increase their impact and their income online. Her story has been featured in Yahoo News, RightNow media, and Woman’s Day magazine.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Connect with me on social media!\u00a0DM me on Instagram!<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGod, what am I supposed to do?\u201d I prayed through tears as I rocked my newborn. Fresh off the heels of a divorce, I was devastated and desperate to understand what good could come from my worst nightmare. I had so many dreams and goals for my life, and being a single mom was not\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":322,"featured_media":227966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408,1,437,10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[369],"class_list":["post-227964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-future","category-life-advice","category-purpose-calling","category-vision"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227964"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227969,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227964\/revisions\/227969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227964"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveoriginal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=227964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}