S2 Episode #28- Megan Fate Marshman
THE ONE WITH MEGAN FATE MARSHMAN
Megan loves God and His church. She is a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, speaks to audiences internationally, leads the women’s ministry at Arbor Road Church, and serves as Director of Women’s Ministries at Hume Lake Christian Camps. Megan delights in sharing Jesus at churches, conferences, universities, and around dinner tables. She currently lives in southern California with her husband and two boys.
In Meant for Good: The Adventure of Trusting God & His Plans for You, Megan Fate Marshman takes a fresh look at the scripture. She wants readers to believe God is worthy of our trust, take active steps to trust him regularly, hope more fervently and ultimately understand their own purpose.
“You can trust God’s plans event though you don’t yet know what they are,” writes Megan. “You can trust them even if nothing in your life looks good. Even though His plans may not be what you expected, they’re good, because He is good, in ways we can only being to understand. When that truth settles into our hearts, we can live in trust and active dependence on Him. We have a wonderful road ahead.”
W A T C H
R E A D
“Success is knowing that I was where I was, acting on behalf of the Lord, uniquely how he created me to be.”
In other words,
success is when you are present--
for God’s glory, not your own--
where God is uniquely using you.
You don’t have to wait to live your purpose. God will grow your character alongside your purpose.
Jeremiah 29:11-- “For I know that plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
This is NOT the promise. That is a specific word for a specific group of people. This word is consistent with God’s character, but it is not the promise for us to claim today.
The promise is found in verse 13 . . .
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
If you are seeking peace, inspiration or hope… that is not the promise. The promise is that when we seek God, we will not be disappointed. We are often looking for something specific and come away disappointed because we are not seeking the right thing… Him.
God invites us to trust.
Trust looks like action. It’s the belief in God combined with the action of “getting in the wheelbarrow”.
Verse 12-- “Then you will call upon me…”
This is a direct contrast to calling upon yourself. God is calling us into something deep and personal with Him. When we call on him, He listens!
Trust and Anxiety
Daniel 3-- Shadrach Meshach and Abednego are about to go into the fiery furnace and they said to the king,
“Our God is able, but even if he doesn’t …”
The game of “What if…” will breed fear. When you catch yourself asking, “What if…”, switch it to “Even if…” Sometimes faith is a refining process. Sometimes it doesn't look like peace-- Jesus didn’t have peace in the garden. Sometimes peace and obedience do not coincide.
Reminders from Beth Moore…
God will always deliver you. He will either deliver you:
From It
Through It
Or Into His Arms
When the men came out of the furnace, they didn’t smell like smoke. When we come through trials, we can still carry the fragrance of Christ!
Jeremiah 29:11 -- God says he knows the plans, but he doesn’t tell us what they are. We must be content with whatever the plans are and trust.
Romans 8:28-- in all things, God works together for our good.
Romans 8:29-- God gives us his definition of good. This is to form us into the likeness of Jesus. This is not always comfortable.
Take time to wait on the Lord and reflect…
Consider the thing that you’re going through. How might God be using this thing to form you more into the likeness of Jesus?
Remember your prayers. It will help you see God all over the place.
We are all waiting for the big stories, but it requires small obediences.
The key to dreaming big: R E S T
“Perfect love drives out fear” — This might be less about receiving love and more about handing it out. God is love and the best thing that he does with that love is to give it away. If we are looking to have fear and anxiety cast away is not about looking to be loved, but trusting that you already are and allowing the love to overflow through you.
To be content. . .
Contentment is found in Jesus, but we often feel content in moments that seem to have nothing to do with Jesus. All of those moments are icing and they are meant to be enjoyed. However when we make them the root of our contentment, we will destroy them under that wait. So we can’t live on the blessings, but we can embrace them and enjoy them-- they are the icing! We can’t live on icing along, but it is meant to be enjoyed!
A Final Word From Megan
Spend intimate time with The Lord. You can get away with the Lord. The promise of Jeremiah 29:13 is for YOU. When you seek The Lord, you will find Him; when you find Him, you will have everything that you need.
L I S T E N
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This episode of The Collected Podcast was edited by Jacob Early.
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