"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
This morning I woke up to Jeremiah 29:11 repeating in my heart. Sometimes, I believe, we ask to know God's Will to feel that the sense of purpose for our lives. One we know our calling, we want to know the next step to take, the next plan of action and while all this is fine and dandy, the next thing we do seriously messes us up. God speaks. He tells us where to go, what to do and you know what we do? We begin to try to logic His reasons, His motives and how all this is going to work in our favor. We are such "me, me, me" driven people. We want to know how His plan is going to benefit our lives. Guess what. It's not about us! That's the first lesson we've got to learn. His plan, His purpose, His Will it's all about Him! He is the alpha and omega. The beginning and the end. The author and finisher of our faith. Everything revolves around Him -- not us. The second lesson to learn is to trust and obey.
I home-schooled my son for preschool. I started out desiring to teach him the basics, but what I found more often then not, God was teaching me the basics. It never failed almost ever lesson I prepared for my son, God prepared a lesson for me too. One such lesson was when I presented my son with a connect-the-dots worksheet. He's first questions was, "What is it, mommy?" I said, "You'll find out by connecting the dots." This worksheet was designed to help teach him to count, if it were numbers and the alphabet if the dots were marked with letters. This also taught him how do draw lines from one point to another, how to hold his pencil and the educational reasons keep going. For me, I learned that we are just like my four year old son. We want to know the purpose behind the design and we connect the dots we begin to get frustrated, feel confused, lost even because, unlike the worksheet, we don't always see the next dot to go to. This is where we learn to trust and just obey.
When I rededicated my life to God in 1998, I had so many questions. "Lord, what is Your will for me? Have I messed up Your perfect plan for my life? Oh God please use me! Don't allow me to mess up again. Show me Your Will and help me to follow you." It didn't take long for God to answer me. He guided my heart with these words, "Daughter, I love you. You will marry a preacher. Don't date anyone who is not a preacher." No those weren't His exact words but that pretty much sums it up. He let me know what to stay away from and what to focus my attention on... His Word! His desire was to be my companion and, in His time, He'd send me the man He created for me and in 2000 He did just that. Our journey together hasn't always been easy. We've faced many hard trials together in the ministry and in our personal lives, yet through it all, we're learning the art of surrender, trust and obedience! God asks us all to surrender ourselves to His purpose and to trust Him. Our vision is impared by all that we can't see, but He sees the finished product, the final masterpiece. He knows all things, sees all things and instructs us accordingly.
Now, I have a huge problem. Maybe you do too. When God points me in a direction, tells me what to do, where to go and what to say, I instantly begin pondering the reasons. I want to know why, how, how long, what is this leading to and let's not forget the "how does this benefit me". I'll admit it. I'm guilty. I'm an -over- analytical person. I love to study people and why we do what we do. I'm bad about listening to someone speak, but reading their body lanuage and facial expressions more. I read "between the lines" more than I hear what they're actually saying. This is impossible to do with God. First of all, just to state the obvious, we can't see him. Secondly, because we can not comprehend His ways. Job 37:5 says, "God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend." Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, "God’s ways are as hard to discern as the pathways of the wind, and as mysterious as a tiny baby being formed in a mother’s womb." We can read and study God's Word until we can quote it back and forth, but we'll never fully understand and comprehend God. It's impossible. God reveals Himself in small doses through out His Word and I'm convinced He does the same in our lives.
I have many friends, but only two best friends. It takes time to get to know someone, to trust someone and to find that special something that sets them above the rest. Building such a relationship requires time, effort and the "want to". The relationship grows with time and experiences, until one day you look back and find that with each experience you've learned to trust them more. The same can be said for our relationship with God. Our relationship with God will determine how well we trust Him. As we spend more time with Him, He reveals Himself more and more and allows us insight into His heart, His purpose and His plan.
Today you may be trying to connect the dots. You feel confused, lost and wondering what's next. Let me encourage you. Don't allow yourself to be distracted by those things you're not meant to understand and focus your attention on God. We're not meant to live life like a giant scavenger hunt looking for clues to paste the pieces together. We know our mission (Matthew 28:19-20). We know our final destination (John 14:2) and we know that God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Now let us trust Him to lead us and guide us according to His divine plan, knowing that He has it all planned out and can and will sustain us in our journey.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord,
We praise you and magnify your name. Thank you for being patient with us, for allowing us to be apart of your perfect plan despite our many shortcomings. Thank you for helping us to realign ourselves through Your Word. Father, we don't understand Your ways, nor do we understand your reasons. Please forgive us for being selfish and wanting everything to make sense to us. Please help us to accept the plate you set before us and be satisfied with your plan for our lives today, for we know you will take care of tomorrow. Touch our hearts, open our eyes and ears and fill us with your peace and joy. Encamp Your angels angels around us and keep us with your mighty power. We desire to please you and you alone, O Lord, to give you glory and honor and praises. We surrender ourselves to your Will today. Use us as you please. In Jesus name, Amen.
