Coming Face To Face With Love

I had always felt like God had forgotten about me. I knew all the scriptures often quoted on Sundays that said differently, but I imagined that in the metaphorical line where Jesus hands out life plans, gifts and talents, I somehow got pushed out of the way.  I’m not sure when this type of thinking creeped in, but whenever it was seeded, I sure did water it, nurture it and grow it. By the time I was in high school, I pretty much saw myself as worthless and when you don’t know the value of something, you tend to not care how much you damage it. Damaged I was, and mostly by my own doing and my own thinking. By the time I left home I stopped going to church, except for the rare guilt ridden Sunday. I believed in God and even in my heart of hearts I loved Him, but without a vision for my life, I sacrificed my relationship with Him, my values, dreams and self-esteem.  
 
Having grown up in church, I knew what the presence of God felt like. One day I was getting ready for work and that presence swiftly flooded the room. I fell tomy knees and began to cry. “God what are you trying to tell me?” I asked. All I heard was, “Check your email. Check your email. Check your email.” I just knew that this was something important and my hope rose that maybe, just maybe, God was going to give me direction for my life. I opened my email and there it was…. So much more than I had hoped for. The only thing in my inbox was from a friend of a friend that I had met a few years prior name Daniel Gonzales. He wrote, “I don’t believe that God puts someone on your heart for three years without it meaning something.” As I continued to read, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me, “Celeste, in your years of rebellion, I have loved you so much that I set aside someone for you that has only ever had eyes for you.” I cried and I cried and I cried. Even in my rebellion, God was still making good plans for my life! Daniel would later tell me that from the first time he laid eyes on me at the age of 15, he knew he was going to marry me. God had told Daniel, but he just hadn’t told me yet. If I had only trusted the character of God, I could have saved so much unnecessary pain and even more, I could have lived a purposeful, confident life that was pleasing to the Lord. 
 
During this month where love is in the air, I want you to know and fully trust that God deeply loves you and cares about the details of your life. The enemy thrives on sowing seeds of doubt and planting questions especially when you are unsure, feel over looked or are just going through a difficult season. Nevertheless, God ‘s love for us is unconditional and even though life may have thrown you a curve ball, God has not been caught off guard. He still loves you. He still has a plan for you. He is still pursuing you!  
 
I encourage you to have a face to face encounter with the One who has faced and defeated everything that can ever come against you. Radiant Conference is the perfect place to pursue the One that has been pursing you. 
 
See you soon!
XO
Pastor Celeste Gonzales