Godly Plans

“There are many plans in a man’s heart,

Nevertheless, the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.”

     Proverbs 19:21 (NKJV)

Have you made any resolutions for this new year?  Or maybe you’ve chosen a certain word this year?  This seems to be popular even in Christian circles; I’ve recently read of “joy,” “genuine” or “pray” as words selected to focus on for spiritual growth. Or maybe you’ve chosen a particular Bible verse to follow this year?

It’s good to have goals and make plans.  The problem is when we leave God out of them.  James 4:13-17 describes businessmen who made plans for where they would go, how long they would stay there and even boasted that they would make a profit while there, but God didn’t enter their plans.  None of us are guaranteed tomorrow; only God knows.  As Proverbs 19:21 indicates, our heart may be filled with many plans, but only God’s counsel and purpose will prevail.

Have you ever made your own plans and then asked God to bless them?  Have you ever confidently said I will do this and that, just assuming that God would be with you?  I think each of us might have done that.  Instead, we should seek God’s will and His wisdom in making our plans and in setting our goals, and then pray for His help in doing them. 

Whether you’ve made resolutions for the year---or not, I pray that we will each walk humbly with God in an attitude of surrender to His will. And whatever circumstances and challenges we’re facing this year, I want to encourage us to remember that God will use all of it for our good and His glory if we love God and are “called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)

Thursday Devotional - Righteous Reflections

Happy New Year!

My parents, my family and my sisters and their families were all together for the new year (see attached picture). We were reflecting on this past difficult year, while remembering God was with us through each difficulty. He didn’t remove or prevent several of the difficulties, but He was with us through them (and continues to be with us). He heard each of our prayers and provided direction.

We each went around and shared our biggest challenge or difficulty from the past year and our greatest joy. Later, we also talked about plans and goals for the coming year. We were encouraged knowing God has given us clear direction in numerous big and small decisions in the past. Then, as I re-read and meditated on Psalm 34 yesterday, I was further encouraged!

Psalm 34:15-18 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The Lord is always available, always hears, always sees, always desires to give direction and is always ready to comfort us. We can cry out to Him with our fears, frustrations, and for our future. Let’s continue to reflect on His faithful provisions in the past. Then, we can confidently seek Him first and foremost this new year for His plans for each one of us! 

Alice

Do As I Have Done To You

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.  And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”  John 13:12-15

Happy New Year to you and your families! I wanted to give you some insight on my resolution for the New Year.  In thinking about my past year and goals that I have set, I plan to spend a lot of time focusing on preparedness.  Another theme that resonates with me is that I should focus more on those things that are strengths of mine. In that vein, words that come to mind are ‘love for others,’ ‘honor,’ and ‘servitude.’  In saying those things, I realize there is no greater driver for me than love, and as I look toward my devotion writing, I plan to spend more time writing in this area.  It is my love for others that tends to motivate me to be better than I would be motivated on my own.  It is that which I start the year focusing on; love for others.

We are truly followers of Christ when we understand that the relationship with Him is one where we give without attention toward receiving. I have read these verses on many occasions, and focused rightfully on the idea of Jesus as Lord serving His disciples.  However, we tend to lose sight of what Jesus wants here.  He does not want anything!  He invited them to do as He has done.  He did not say, “You must wash each other’s feet, or else.”  This lesson He gave them is emphasized by His saying, “I have given you an example to follow.”  Other versions (“should do” – NIV & KJV, “should be done” – NLV) mirror those words.  While He does say, “Do as I have done to you,” this is not a commandment.  It is a gift of spiritual knowledge!  It is meant to inspire understanding of the expectation of being a follower of Christ.  Becoming more knowledgeable of God does not elevate us above others.  It should instill us with a heart to serve them.  It has the Master as the servant.  It pushes us to ask not what price those who would do us harm must pay.  Instead, it asks how I can better aide in their troubles.  That is the spirit of Jesus’s teaching in these verses.

Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all in sacrificing His life for our sins. It covers past, present, and future sins.  Because of this, we should feel a weight lifted from our shoulders that allows us to live without guilt or suffering.  However, we know that Jesus does not command anything from us in exchange.  Yet life as taught us that those who love us the most command ask nothing in return.  Perhaps if we truly love Jesus as we say, we ought to give our lives toward serving Him without any expectations.  That’s what a loving relationship with Christ resembles.  Is your walk of faith like the examples of Jesus?  Do you act either because God says so or willingly and freely out of love for Him?  My prayer is that we start the New Year doing what Jesus taught His disciples; Do as I have done to you.  Amen.

Rest

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

I am the type of person that just goes and goes and goes until I crash.  At which point, I tend to crash hard.  With the holidays, this was no exception.  By the end of last week, I found myself battling a headache and just wore out.  I knew it was time to find rest.  The thing is, we were getting ready to leave for the weekend so I really didn’t have time for resting.  That’s when I came across this verse.  I’ve read it many times before, it wasn’t new.  But it hit me.  Last week we celebrated the birth of Christ, and right after I got super busy with work and getting the house prepared for new flooring.  I was failing to take the time I needed in my devotions and had grown weary and burdened. 

At that point, I stopped and took a little time to find rest in Christ by being in the word.  Thankfully I can look forward to some additional physical rest this next week as I take PTO and spend time with my son who is on his winter break but in that moment, it was the recharge of some scripture that was really needed.

Have you gotten so busy that you have failed to rest in the Lord’s word?  I encourage you today to not let yourself grow too weary.  Remember to go to the Lord and he will give you rest.