What's the Plan? In His Word -4-29-19
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9
Some days we have it all figure out. We plan our future and
walk in it and everything seems to be going ‘according to plan’ but then
something happens. A job closes, a loved one dies, a car gets destroyed in the
middle of the night and your very livelihood is threatened. You know, sometimes
we have the floor drop out from under us as we stand thee assessing the damage
the roof caves in upon us. What we do in these times can define us; it can ruin
us, or it can strengthen us.
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come
your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith
is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your
endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing
nothing. If you
need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not
rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God
alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a
wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to
receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they
are unstable in everything they do. James 1 2-8
Some people, as in those who do not live with Christ as their
savior and Lord; look to the worldly ways to fix their problems or to ‘get
through it’. What we do with the problems that arise or the issues that come
from them is what really says who we are. Are we Christians, or are we not? We
are not meant to flounder as a child in the water who cannot swim, but we are
meant to reach out for the help! We are meant to listen for God’s advice and
direction through His Word where we find Godly men and women have given us testimony
after testimony of times they failed and how they got back up by God’s hand!
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been
taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your
former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which
was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians
4:20b-24
What do we do when our spirit feels weighted or wasted? When
we feel that ‘why bother’ emotion that can drag us totally into a spiral of
self doubt or self pity? We renew our minds, or get better thoughts and words
in there!
The best way I know to be renewed in my spirit when the
world’s devastation or lackluster get the best of me is to get in the Word and
just read it! Go over my own old notes sharing what God encouraged me in the
past, and even sometimes my own journal notes will remind me of the scriptures
or worship songs that lifted my soul to new heights and directed me on the right
path again.
Sometimes I put on my Bible app, plug in my headphones, and
take a walk! Just listening to His Word read to me when I don’t have the peace
to read it myself. I find it is good to listen to worship songs that have always
reached my heart so putting together a play list of songs during the good times
is a great idea! Taking a walk is not
always possible but if you can get some kind of music or the word of God in
your ears it will make its way to your heart and then flood your mind with good
things!
Think on these things!
We always seem to come back to what we think, or dwell on,
is what we do. If we can think on the right things then we can focus on the positive
things we need to do to keep moving forward.
When my youngest child was a baby I had a short bout with what they called the “baby blues”. For a while
I would find myself feeling out of sorts in a way that nothing seemed to help
me get out of the gloom my brain was in, I wanted to give up! I was having some
major self view issues and had to accept that I had put on a lot of weight
after having my son. I was a skinny me before pregnancy with this one, I had
thought I had finally kept a good weight through the birth day, but then it
seemed as if everything stuck on me! One day I saw my reflection in a store
window and it send me spiraling into a hate session with myself. Funny but I began kneeling and praying again
after that, as well as taking the kids on a daily walk to refresh my soul. The weight
was just an outward thing for me it was my life not being how I thought it
would be and how I was feeling as if I was just going through the motions and
not doing anything significant. I was, of course teaching a ladies Bible study
and home teaching my young children, as well as taking care of my loving
husband. This was also when I began writing my biggest Bible studies! Out of my
weakness God brought me words of encouragement for others!
He brought friend along side me to study the Word and to just
have good fellowship and showed me how to live in-spite of my weaknesses. I
learned that my weight did not define me then, nor will it again now! I will
not allow the enemy to defeat me with words of unworthiness, or illness, or
physical frailness! I will overcome because God is with me and He will
strengthen my heart when I put my trust in Him!
I made the choice to trust Him with my heart and mind along
before those days but I needed the push to remember it! I needed to experience
the weakness to see the strength I had in Him!
I was blessed or lucky or whatever you want to call it and I was able to
shake off the depression I was feeling and move forward focused on God and what
He wanted me to do!
Such joy followed! I met friends going through similar things;
we encouraged one another in word and deed and planted seeds of friendships that
have lasted throughout the years!
Had I chosen to wallow in self pity I would not have stepped
up and been the encouraging friend to one of my friends, and the one to pray
with another. I would not have known what to say to one person going through a
similar issue had I not suffered at some point in my life. So when we go
through things, we need to write out what we find out in His Word because it
will definitely encourage someone in times ahead as well as give us the little
push to read more ,walk more, study more in His love and in His Word!
Heavenly Father, reach out to us today, whatever we are
going through because sometimes we are drowning in our own self thoughts and
cannot reach the edge of the shore due to fear and doubts. Pull us to safety Lord,
bring us up out of the water and place us on solid ground. In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested Reading: Hebrews 10:1-39 , Ephesians 4: 1-32 , Proverbs
16:1-33 and Philippians 4:1-23