The Lord's Purpose vs Our Plan

Proverbs 19:21

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Last week I wrote about having a plan but the Lord establishing the steps.  This is something that is still very close to me right now as I’m trying to figure out some changes that I see coming in my life.  Sometimes we can have a plan, pray on it and seek the Lord’s will, thinking it is his will.  Yet in the end, his purpose will prevail and the plan that we had may not work out. 

As we go through life, we have to remember that the Lord has a plan for us.  We have to be willing to accept changes that were not in our own personal plan and embrace them. 

Today, it is my prayer that we each seek the Lord’s purpose in our lives, rather than just the plans of our own heart.  

Thurs Devo: How Long for Justice?

We often want justice served quickly and completely for those who harm other people. Even the saints in Heaven plead for justice.

Revelation 6:9-11     ⁹ When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.¹⁰ They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” ¹¹ Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.

God is Just and will eventually avenge evil. He patiently and lovingly withholds immediate justice to give people additional opportunities to repent of their rebellion against Him and turn to follow Him.

II Peter 3:9    ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Are you and I pleading for justice now? Or, are we waiting patiently for God’s final judgment day? Like the saints in Heaven, I think it is natural and acceptable to ask God “how long?”. As we await His justice, we can also focus on the grace and mercy He has already extended to you and me, and rest in the assurance that God will bring justice in His Sovereign time.

Alice

Always There

Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.” Exodus 3:10-12

It seems maintaining faithfulness in tough times has become a theme for the New Year as I have been inundated with stories of people dealing with tough times.  Not just your ordinary ‘have a rough week’ tough times. Instead, more of the ‘the husband and pastor of my church was killed by someone he was trying to help and I do not understand why God allowed this to happen’ tough times (not my pastor by the way). These are the times you find out how real God is in your life.  What do you do when you feel all of the prayers are unanswered and the words of friends trying to comfort you fall hollow?  I admit at those times I initially feel lost and a bit alone.  However, this does not send me to a place of blaming God for my woes.  Instead, it becomes a time to exercise patience and trust in His word knowing He is there with me.  Always.

Tough times are when God’s promises will give you comfort.  The story of God revealing Himself to Moses is always encouraging to me. It’s not just the knowledge of God existence as I mentioned last week.  It is Moses’ perspective here that is revealing.  We all have the moment where we look at a task or situation that we are in, and we ask ourselves, “How can we deal with this?”  How do I overcome the pressure where there is no relief? How do I deal with the pain that seems never ending or sorrow that won’t go away?  After being given the directive to lead the people of Israel out from slavery, Moses, understanding how massive an undertaking God was giving to him, asked a similar question; Who am I to do this?  God reassured Moses saying, “I will be with you.”  Thus, Moses’ perspective went from just the average guy to God’s personal messenger.  This would instill all the confidence he needed to follow God’s instruction.  We all have those moments where we are simply overwhelmed.  However, these are the times where we should remain faithful and be filled with the never ending hope as written in Romans 12:12 (Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying).

Our journey of faith is an ongoing story filled with both struggles and successes.  Our goal is not to run from challenges.  It is to continue looking forward and focusing on God. Furthermore, we must maintain our hope that the purpose of our current situation will revealed in the future. So let us remember the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4 fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and remaining faithful.  How can assurance of God’s presence aide you in your current situation?  What challenge do you need to take to God today? My prayer is that we continue to look forward to God knowing He is always there.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Prayer beyond friends

Hello,

Last week I shared about prayer for our friends, and a model of how to approach that from all angles. As I have looked a little more at prayer for others through some of the New Testament, something caught my eye from Paul in Ephesians. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 6:18-20

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (NASB)

What first caught my eye at the tail end of v18 is the request to pray for all the saints – not just our close friends. Sometimes we get caught I believe in our prayers in 2 directions; either just praying for our closest friends – or only praying for large groups/countries that are more generic. Now, nothing wrong with either – but let’s not forget the group in the middle of believers we know of, though we may not count them as close friends. When Paul goes on in 19 and 20 to give some specifics of how he can be prayed for, I think that this doubles not just as what he was facing – but a good guide for how we can pray for that group of believers: they speak what God wants them to and they are unashamed of the Gospel – and this comes through loud and clear in their conversations and interactions.

Have a blessed day – and I hope we all take some time to pray for those believers that are beyond the immediate friend group.

Will Hill