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What Do You Know For Sure?

Written By Cassandra Bellamy, USA

“What do you know for sure?”

This was the question American talk show host Oprah Winfrey would often ask her guests at the end of each interview on her wildly popular talk show. In each issue of her own magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, she writes about the things she knows for sure—discovered through life experiences—and her “Ah ha” moments.

There are few things in this world, however, that we can confidently say that “we know for sure.” When I was growing up, I thought I knew everything. I was sure about what I wanted to do with my life, career-wise. But once I was out of college and with no job in sight, I found myself questioning God about my future. Having to cope with a birth deformity didn’t make things any better—I was born with Arthrogryposis, a condition which limits my mobility and is noticeable when I walk and sit, and even affects my voice.

With no job security, the limitations of my physical condition, and little in the way of social life, I suffered from low self-esteem. I became lonely and could not see my purpose in life.

But then I found hope in God’s Word. God’s messages to Jeremiah were particularly encouraging. In Jeremiah 1:5, He tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” And in Jeremiah 29:11, God says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

These verses inspired me to start praying to God to show me the gifts He had given me. Before long, I stopped feeling lonely. And recently, I realized that I have the gift of encouraging others. By the grace of God, I am now working as an early childhood educator.

Through His Word and my experiences, I have gained the confidence to say that I know “for sure” that God loves us so much that “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Doubt no longer fills my mind when things do not go my way, nor do I feel a sense of loneliness when there are no friends around. I know God loves me and has a purpose not just for me, but for all of us. We just have to trust Him.

Now that’s an “Ah ha” moment!

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