Hearing
God answer me is often my problem. It's difficult for me. I wonder if what I'm
thinking or feeling is just ME or is it God telling me or pushing me towards
those thoughts/decisions. I have no idea. I've often just sat there crying and
pleading with God to just WRITE ON THE WALL. Of course He didn't. So I am still
fine tuning my ears and heart to hear what He wants me to hear.
"May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow
with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
“For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to
give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
“Before I formed you
in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart!” Jeremiah
1:5
“You saw me before I
was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day
was recorded in your book!” Psalm 139:16
God’s plan uses your strengths as well as your weaknesses.
We all have strengths – they are part of the plan. We all have
limitations – they too are part of the plan. We all have seasons of life
that are essential to the plan as well. Real Success comes when, instead of constantly fighting against or
trying to change the plan, we learn to identify and build on our strengths,
accept the limitations as hedges of protection from God and yield to the
seasons in life as God’s perfect timing. Sometimes we step off our
path because of some unexpected adversity, but more often it is by us giving
into temptations and sinning.
WHEN THERE IS A LACK OF PEACE IN YOUR
LIFE, THAT IS WHEN YOU SHOULD STOP MOVING AHEAD.
I saw a
devotional email that said it was like a sports game, as long as you stay
within the boundaries you are free to move about, but the whistle gets blown
and the game pauses if you step outside of those bounds. Maybe that is where
free will comes into a pre-destined plan. You have a set course, but lots of
movement within that course.
When we
get off our path, or try to leave the game, God WILL try to get our attention. Watch for the uneasy feelings of warning, the
lack of peace IS the sign we are asking for.
If we
step off our path, it's not GAME OVER, that is where confessing our sins,
seeking His face, and following His instructions comes into play. God is
always working to restore your life after we try to veer off the path.
“The one who calls you is faithful
and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24
What God calls you
to do, He empowers you to do. With the plan comes every resource that we will
need to accomplish that plan.
The right
path is always marked by peace.
"Trust
in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways submit to him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
"Who,
then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen
for him." Psalm 25:12
Of
course, since it is God’s Plan, it is THE BEST PLAN, the
goal for which it was instituted is of the highest good. It is good in a functional sense, because the
plan is certain to work, producing the ends for which it was ordained.
Ultimately, it is good because it is God’s plan. bible study
The bible
states over and over again, making it very clear, that God does have a
plan.
“The
counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to
generation” Psalm
33:11
“Many
are the plans in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand” Proverbs 19:21
“This
is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is
stretched out against all the nations. For the Lord of hosts has planned, and
who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
Isaiah 14:26-27
From
the Westminster Confession of Faith: “God
from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely
and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.”
More
from this Bible.Org bible study: "The “purposed will
of God” refers to God’s eternal decree, the plan which
will surely come to pass. It encompasses all of the other “wills.” The “preferential
will of God” refers to that which gives God
pleasure or displeasure. Our Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane reveals
that the cross of Calvary was not our Lord’s desire, but it was His purpose. “God is not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter
3:9). He “desires all men to be
saved” (1 Timothy 2:4).
In spite of this desire, God has purposed that some will be eternally saved,
while others will be eternally damned (see Romans 9).
Just as we may spank a disobedient child when it is not our desire or delight,
God’s decree includes some things in which he does not delight, like the
punishment of the wicked. The “prescriptive
will of God” is God’s will expressed as a standard for man’s
conduct. It is God’s will set down in the Scriptures as commands, standards, or
principles which govern what we do or do not do. It is God’s prescriptive will
that we do not steal, lie, or worship idols. It is likewise His (prescriptive)
will that we love Him and love our neighbor. God’s “permissive
will” includes those events or actions of men which are, in and of
themselves, sinful. They are contrary to God’s preference and to His prescriptive
will. Nevertheless God uses sin to accomplish His will. " The plan of God is all-encompassing.
When human plans fail, it is often because the planner has
overlooked some detail. Something unforeseen arises, and suddenly plans
collapse. This is because every detail was not taken into account. God’s plan
is all-inclusive. It is based on God’s omniscience (knowing all), so that
everything past, present, and future is taken into account. God’s omniscience,
as we have seen, includes all things which will actually occur, as well as all
things which could possibly occur. Every contingency is taken into account in
God’s plan. God’s plan is for all creation, things in heaven and on earth,
things visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities (Colossians
1:16). God’s plan includes seemingly insignificant details. It
excludes “good luck” or coincidences." bible study
How do we find God's Plan for US? By spending time
with God. He made the plan. He is the only one who KNOWS the Plan.
By saturating daily
life with His truth and continually turning our hearts to conversation with
Him. simply because we love the sound of His voice and long for His
presence. When we spend time with Him the plan naturally unfolds as we
take every step in obedience.
I have to learn
what my spiritual gifts are. What am I passionate about? What are my natural
abilities? What type of personality do I have? What do other people see in me?
I also need to learn what my limitations are, and accept them. They are there
for a purpose. I will learn to flow with the seasons of my
life. I will trust Him to lead me down the right path, MY path that HE designed
for ME. God’s plan is developed throughout a lifetime. He started it, and He will
finish it. The God who
began a good work in us continues it throughout our lifetime, and will finish
it when we meet him face to face. God's work for us
began when Christ died on the cross in our place. His work in us
began when we first believed. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, enabling us to
be more like Christ every day. God will help you grow in grace until he has
completed his work in your life. Don't let your present conditions rob you of
the joy of knowing Christ or keep you from growing closer to Him. Philippians 1:6
God's Plan does
NOT change.
"The
counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to
generation” Psalm
33:11
“Many are the
plans in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand” Proverbs
19:21
“This is the
plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched
out against all the nations. “For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can
frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?” Isaiah
14:26-27
“For as the
rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without
watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the
sower and bread to the eater; So shall My word be which goes forth from My
mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the
matter for which I sent it” Isaiah 55:10-11
“From the
standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the
standpoint of God’s choice
they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of
God are irrevocable” Romans 11:28-29
The plan of God
is complete, fully developed, and as good as done, from God’s point of view: “His works
were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:3).
From a human
point of view, the plan is being unfolded progressively through history and is
only partially revealed. God’s
plan is a mystery because it is the product of the divine mind of God and not
the finite mind of man. It is a mystery because of the mysterious way in which
God works, using sin to accomplish His good will, suffering to produce glory,
death to bring about life. It is a mystery which fallen man cannot fathom apart
from the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
“Yet we
do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom
in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our
glory; the wisdom which
none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” 1 Corinthians 2:6-8
“Seek the
Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to
the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts” Isaiah 55:6-9
God’s plan should shape our plans. God’s
plan suggests that we should plan. But His plan is also instructive as to the
kind of plans we make. Some see planning as inconsistent with our faith in God,
directing us to such texts as:
“Therefore
I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on” Matthew 6:25a
“Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” Matthew 6:34
God wants
us to plan, but not to worry. Worry is the opposite of faith. Worries are based
on fears that COULD occur, but have NOT. They are not based on God’s promises
to us. I think this means we should
plan, and that it is foolish not to plan, especially when it comes to planning
the consequences of our actions and/or sins.
I will continue to pray for my
path to be clear and for courage to follow it.
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