Praise the Lord, Oh my Soul

Wow. I feel like that is all I can say at the moment. I am overwhelmed by the sovereignty and goodness of God. Why He chooses to use a broken vessel like me for HIS glory is beyond me yet he coninues to amaze me through his work in and through me. I am truly humbled. Yesterday I was trying to decide on a topic for my persuasive speech today and my mind kept on wandering back to the topic of Salvation and wanting to share the Gospel to my teacher and classmates, but I, being the stubborn person that I am, tried to ignore that, move on, and find another "more suitable" topic but God had different plans. I couldn't seem to get the idea out of my head so I gave in to what God was doing. I wasn't at all worried about the outcome of the speech: God had given me the idea and I knew that he would be faithful to see me through. He did. This morning I woke up, did some last minute preparations and headed off to class. Little did i know what God had in store. Honestly I expected to be persecuted in some way because of the topic of the speech and the hostility most people have towards is. I was prepared to get a bad grade on my speech, get weird looks, and altogether a poor response. Never underestimate God. I went up to the front and began my speech. Verses I covered were John 3:16-18, James 2:10, Ephesians 2:8-9, and Psalm 5:4-7. Powerful truth. During the speech I actually saw interest and smiles, one girl was even tearing up. My speech teacher commented on a previous speech that I have a positive energy which draws people to me especially when I talk about things that I love and are important to me and that for sure came out today! I love seeing how God can use my personality and joy for Him for His glory and purposes! What a blessing! After my speech my teacher commented on the fact that he was so proud of me for stepping out in courage and for speaking on something im passionate about even though I knew that not everyone would agree but seeing that that didnt matter to me. He said that i balanced my passion with caution to not completely reject those with different beliefs: that I was gracious in my speech. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." What a blessing to see God accomplishing that today in me! Also, after class four people came up and said how much of a blessing it was to hear my speech and how much they enjoyed it and I am beyond convinced that God did work this morning. I am utterly amazed at the greatness of God and his sovereignty in every aspect of life. To God be the Glory for the great thing he has done. May his will be accomplished.