God’s Word leads my path. His story in my life is also for you.

The scriptures were not written TO me; but, they were written FOR me.
And FOR YOU!

The first line above is an important principle of Bible study. The second line, “and for you” is a truth that God has been whispering to me over the last many years.

What I’ve heard from God, isn’t just for me. It’s for me to encourage you.

“For this reason, I Paul,
a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles —
assuming that you have heard of the
stewardship of God’s grace
that was given
TO me, FOR you,”
Ephesians 3:1,2 (capitalization mine)

And this is the scripture I’ve prayed over for my words on Echoes of Grace for many years:

“the church,
of which I became a minister
according to the stewardship from God
that was given
TO me, FOR you,
to make the word of God fully known,”
Colossians 1:25 (capitalization mine)

My husband, Bill, and I often listen to and are deeply ministered to by Sinclair Ferguson’s podcasts. Sinclair Ferguson is a Scottish theologian, scholar, author, and pastor. His accent makes his words shine even brighter! His devotional podcast is Things Unseen.

Recently he was talking about God’s providence. “God’s providence is an investment in His ways.” He went on to say, “God’s purposes IN you are not only FOR you, but for the blessing of others.” TO me, FOR you. 

God’s providence works in and through me
for His Glory, Our Good, and Other’s Blessings.

He sited the story of Joseph in Genesis for example. We can read that entire narrative in an hour. But it lasted about 15 years for family reconciliation to become reality.

I can identify. Can you? God allowed me to know the story of Joseph, because I too have hard family situations. The narrative was not written to me, but it is recorded for me.

My sister struggled with lung disease for years. We often connected across the miles by phone. My tears flowed freely the evening that she responded to Jesus’s invitation to join his family. God in his wisdom and providence wrote this story. My salvation story was not only for me, it was also for my sister, a gift to me for others.

I’m reminded of Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me (pursue me*, chase after me**) all the days of my life.” I can only see what is behind me if I turn around and look. When I look and see what God has entrusted to me, I can pass it on; it is also for you.

My prayer as I pen these posts is that my words will deeply minister to you!

“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God’s elect
and their knowledge of the truth, 
which accords with godliness,”
Titus 1:1 (underlines mine)

* pursue from the New Living Translation.
** chase from the Message.

Copyright: Sue Tell, October 2025