Work in a Life

I have been trying to read a lot of books lately because I am trying to teach myself as much as I can while I have a lot of time on my hands so as to best maximize my time. I was convicted tonight though: in all my learning, is it changing my life? With this question in mind, I'm not going to slow down my learning but I do hope that in thinking about it, praying about it, and then, Lording willing, acting upon it, I will start to see my life change and reflect all of my learning. I don't want to be a guy who can tell you a bunch of stuff but then when that stuff is compared to my life, they don't match up. I want people to see my life and then understand my life after they get to know what I know. I have much to learn in life and I have much to change in my life but I know that God is faithful and He will complete the work He has started and all I have to do is my best to do what He commands and I should turn out alright.

I just finish a book about the sovereignty of God and while I have about 40 pages left in the book, I started to think about how this topic would impact my life. The book presents some ideas but then I was trying to think of personal things for me. I came up with a few:
The sovereignty of God impacts how I make decisions. Knowing that God is sovereignly in control of everything mean that I don't have to have all the answers in life. All I have to do is to make the best decision that I can. I can make a decision because I know that God is in control so I don't have to worry about making the wrong decision because God is the one who is making all things work. That doesn't mean there is no such thing as a foolish or stupid decision but that if I am doing my best to seek counsel from God and people more wise than I am and then make a decision, God is going to use that even if it isn't in the way that I thought that He would use it.
The sovereignty of God impacts why I make decisions. Similar to the first but I do think different enough to mention separately. God is sovereign but that doesn't mean that I just do nothing. It means that in everything I do, He is working. Does this encourage me to sin? I hope not. I hope that this encourages me to think of Him in my planning and decisions more. I don't use God's sovereignty as a scapegoat but as a guide. Because God is sovereign and He has laid out His plan for the world in His Word, I know what is going to happen and why it is going to happen and so I can make my plans to further His purpose here on earth. I want to make decisions that promote the glory of God, bless those who are around me, cause me to love Him and others more, and make me into His image.
The sovereignty of God gives me hope. I like to plan and to figure out ever angle that I can and to then do those plans. My plans never tend to have gone according to plan, something always seems to change and then I make new plans. Luckily, I like to plan. I will continue to plan for the rest of my life because I think it is good to have a plan, but in my plan making, I know that God is in control and that I can't try to hold on to my plan. I have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow let alone 2 years from now or 20 years from now, but I am still going to plan for them. I want to do ministry, have a family, and impact that world for Christ. Two of those things, I am very positive will happen because I will not be content in life if I don't do them and I think I have done this up to this point in my life but I want to continue doing them and to do it better and in greater quantity. However, I have died once and I could die tomorrow and never get a family. I would be in heaven, that wouldn't bother me! If left alone, I know I will not be as productive in my life, if I live a long time, as if I had a family because a family, I have heard, makes you grow up and get serious about life. I want that. I don't want to be a kid (I don't think most would call me a kid but still, excel still more). If God blesses me with a family or not though, I don't have to worry about. All I have to do is to spend the time I have as best I can and allow God to work out the rest. This is why I can have hope in life because God is in control and sovereign. He takes care of everything and I don't have to worry about the next day. He is going to provide the things that I need, even if it isn't in the way that I think it should be. He is good. He will provide. I think I can now be excited for life to happen because I just get to ride the roller coaster and have fun along the way doing what I love to do: learning and teaching about the things of God.