We never know what lies ahead for us. Some people love the surprise, the challenge, and the exploits of each new day. Others dread the coming of dawn because their past has been less than stellar. Without the Spirit of God within us, we have no guarantee of a positive outcome for our future.
When we plan our own goals, live each day to fulfill our own dreams, or enter a vocation and marriage because it is time in our life plan to do so, we often get disappointed. Yet, when we follow God’s perfect plans for us (Ephesians 2:10), we do so in the safety of His provision, wisdom, and direction.
Our best laid out plans meet with detours, unexpected mountains to climb, and the wildest of rivers to cross. We do our best to meet these challenges with our human instinct and wisdom, but they may eventually leave us stranded in a predicament of our own making (Proverbs 14:12).
Some people rely on fate, others on their common sense, even the “magic” of Christmas and other holidays seem to capture their imagination. Another common practice is to follow their gut feelings, or to listen to their heart. These natural guides only lead us from one dilemma to another (Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 16:26; 2 Samuel 7:18; Psalm 37:23).
Trusting in the Lord God with our whole heart is the only true method for success. We may not achieve worldly fame and fortune, but we reap God’s benefits as we help to change the life of those around us for the better by leading them to place their total faith in God’s unfailing love.
We get in the habit of consulting the Lord in all our ways, and He plants His desires in our heart as well as leads us with His Spirit (Psalm 37:4; Proverbs 3:5-6). Although we still dwell in this world, it is no longer our home. We look forward to eternity as we serve God with our whole being now and always (Ephesians 2:19; 1 Peter 2:11; Galatians 2:20; Matthew 22:37-38).
Prayer:
Father God, strengthen us in our inner being by Your Holy
Spirit, so that our trust in You and our commitment to You will grow with each passing day (Ephesians 3:16-19). As we learn to follow Your plans for our life, rather than our own, we enjoy the comfort of Your presence within us, the success of the endeavors that You lead us to perform, and the interaction in people’s lives that You call on us to influence.
As the time draws near for the return of Christ to collect His Bride, we know that the “birth pains” will intensify. Keep us ever faithful to You, hide us under Your wings, remove all vestige of physical pain from persecution, allow us to see the spiritual fruit of our labors, and help us to increase in our intimacy with You (John 15:18). We are not of this world, even as Jesus was never part of this world, but we are Your ambassadors for Your Kingdom (Philippians 3:20: John 17:16).
Thought for the Day:
In the Lord, our accomplishments in our former human endeavors seem so small, because He causes our future in Him to flourish as we commit each new day to Him and trust in Him though every moment of it; He will continually act on our behalf and in the lives of our children, as well as those that He adds to our church family.
- Job 8:7; Psalm 37:5; Jeremiah 31:17
