God Has a Plan for You

“God Has a Plan for You”

“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good not for disaster, and to give you a future and a hope.”   Jeremiah 29:11

  

Are there times in your life when you feel like you’re all alone and you don’t know what you should do with your life?  I think most of us have felt that way sometime.  However, we must make decisions everyday of our lives; either positive or negative.  One decision you make is to either follow God or not. If you don’t choose to follow God, the enemy of your soul will soon have his hooks in you.

God has plans for our lives as it tells us in Jeremiah and when we don’t listen to Him, we can make some pretty big mistakes.  Many times I have jumped into things I shouldn’t have without asking God about it only to find I should have waited.

Right at this moment while you are reading this, you may be struggling with an issue that calls for an answer.  You may feel all alone in making a decision about it, but you are not!  God has the answer because as it says in Jeremiah 29, “God has good plans for you and not bad ones.”  His plans are for the present and the future, because the decisions you make today will affect your future. 

There are several ways to find out what God wants you to do.  First, pray about it.  Second, read the Bible and thirdly, “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”  (Psalm 27:14) It is so hard to wait if there is something you want or need right now.  Why is it so hard?  Because you’re not sure if God will give you the answer you want from Him.  We must remember that there is ‘our timing’ and there is ‘God’s timing’.

This age is known as ‘The Instant Age’.  We like micro-wave meals, quick drive-ins, drive-ups, quick buys on Amazon and sending quick messages on Face-book; doing on-line banking, paying bills and connecting on the internet.  We want it now! God doesn’t always do things quickly, but in His own time because He knows what we need and when we need it.  There are times when he answers immediately and times when it’s a long wait. 

King David, in the Old Testament struggled many times trying to fit in with the plans God had for him, but he finally learned a little and wanted to share it with others.  In Psalm 37: 5&7, he gives this advice.  “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” What he suggests is to give it over to God and trust him to take care of it.  Then he goes on in verse 7, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently”. Yes, folks; God wants you to be patient.

It makes me think of the song, “Cats in the Cradle”.  It’s about a father and son and as the son was growing up, he asked his dad to do things with him like playing ball, but the father was always too busy.  In the early years, the boy always said, “I’m gonna be like you, Dad.” The son grew up and went to college and when he came home his dad wanted to sit and talk a bit, but the son wanted to do other things.  When the son got married and had his own children, his dad called and told him he would like to see him, but his son said he was too busy. The father hung up the phone and it occurred to him that his son had grown up just like him. It’s a sad song, but so true.

           

To put it in a spiritual sense, whoever you trust in and spend your time with, is who you’ll be like.  Our heavenly Father always has time for us and is always available.  He has great plans for you if you pray and then wait.  He will direct you in the way you should go.

A Study in Psalms - #20

From a Laywoman’s Perspective

“In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry.  May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.”   Psalm 20:1

What a reassurance that we have a mighty Father in heaven that watches over us.  I dare say that if the truth is known, we have been in the valley of death more times than we can imagine.  How many times have you had close calls when driving and even wondered yourself how you managed to get out of being in a terrible accident? God’s angels are always nearby and I for one am so grateful for such protection.

Yes, people die, have accidents and diseases, but my answer to this is in verse 7, “Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God.” (NLT).  Our heavenly Father has told us to trust him for everything in our lives. How can that be?  Because we have free will and make poor choices.  How often do we give our problems to Him?

As for myself, I’ve made many wrong choices and decisions without praying about it and I’m sure you’ve done the same thing.  When we do that, there is often a price to pay.  Let me reassure you God will help you.  In Matthew 6:26 it tells us, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?”  Then it goes on to say, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

When King David wrote this Psalm and left us with this prayer, “May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.”   People have misunderstood this Psalm and misguided others with verse 4.  Now let’s look at this verse with a little more understanding.  First, if our desires are ungodly and out of God’s will, common sense tells you that God will not give it to us.  On the other hand, if our hearts desires are in the will of God, he will not hold back from us.

I knew a godly Christian man who loved motorcycles and he really believed that when he gets to heaven there will be a beautiful motorcycle waiting for him to ride all over heaven.  I really don’t believe that is what heaven is like.  Let’s read this again; “May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.”  First of all, it is talking about a time on earth, not in heaven.  Secondly, God wants to make our plans succeed, and because God wants us to succeed, it must be a part of God’s plans for us.  If there is any victory in God’s plans for us, it will include God’s victories.

There have been times in my life when I sincerely called out to God.  One snowy winter’s evening I was on my way to our church for rehearsal for a Christmas play we were doing when suddenly my front wheel drive caught in the snow and spun my car into a ditch.  I cried, “Jesus, help me.”  My car was on its side and then it settled down and although I was headed in the other direction, I was able to pull out of the ditch and turn it around and headed back toward the church.  What was amazing is that when my husband stopped by, he look at my car and the mirror on the passenger side was broke and hanging there; the whole side of the car was dented in and the tire was totally flat.  I didn’t even know it and had driven about five miles more after my accident.

God is faithful! Never be afraid to cry out to Him

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A Study in Psalms #15

From a Laywoman’s Perspective

“Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?” 

Psalm 15:1 (NLT)

This Psalm speaks to me and tells me as a Christian, we should be ‘Pursuing Holiness’.  None of us are perfect and this Psalm is not meant to condemn, but it is a guideline as to what a Christian should strive to achieve if he or she want to spend eternity with the Lord at the end of their days.

Verse one asks “Who can worship God?”  Well, we know that all are invited to worship God, but He is concerned about the character of those who do.  King David, himself was a very sinful man, although he had a repentant heart. When he wrote this psalm I believe he was also speaking to himself.  Can’t you hear him talking to himself in verse (2)?  “I don’t want to miss eternity with God so I better try harder to live a blameless life.”

He knew he needed to be setting an example and not only do what was right, but speak truth to all.  When you have children or even grandchildren, you need to be a good example to them.  Kids listen to everything you say even more than what you do.  If you gossip or say bad things about others, kids are listening.  They have just learned to talk about family and friends behind their back. 

It’s not always easy to refrain from speaking about others who are blatant sinners.  At the same time it’s not always convenient to lift up those around us who are working for the Lord because Christians have a jealousy problem too.  We may know that we should be serving God more.  It’s easy to say we want to be a servant of the Most High, but we can be lazy or selfish with our time.  If you have made a promise to God or others, you better follow through on it. God honors our promises.

Helping needy people is what God expects of us.  Jesus commented in Matthew 26:11 that we will always have the poor with us.  This statement covers a lot of ground.  When it comes to helping others and spending money, it doesn’t go over very well. It is so interesting how often God speaks about money in the Bible. 

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”  1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT) It appears that of all the things we do or don’t do is about money.  We struggle over how much money we have, but it becomes harder and harder to deal with it.  We can spend all we want for the things we desire, but it seem odd to me that we struggle over giving to God.

I cannot understand why people don’t want to tithe.  When you do God will always supply your needs.  When you don’t give you become a thief and never have enough, but giving to God proves the point that you will receive blessings. God proves it over and over again.  I always say that I will always tithe and offerings because I want God’s blessings.  You may never be rich, but you will never go without.

Verse 5 in this psalm are trying to tell you to give what God wants; he wants you to be blessed! When you understand God’s handling of money it says, “Such people will stand firm forever”.  However, we must have a desire to please God and to work toward Holy Living. Psalm 15 encourages me to try to be a better Christian and be ready to receive God’s blessings that he truly wants to give each of us.

A Study in Psalms

From a Laywoman’s Perspective

 “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!

       Who have set your glory above the heavens?” Psalm 8:1(NKJ)

Have you ever wondered about the greatness of God that made everything; you may wonder about how anyone could make something out of nothing?  This has been the age-old question that has scientists puzzled and theorizing forever.  Stephen Hawking, Theoretical Physicist, died believing he had found the answer, but could not prove it.

Along comes an 11 year-old boy, William Maillis, who has set his mind on proving the existence of God. He started college at age 9.  He is in a university now and is planning on becoming an astrophysicist.  He believes he can now prove God’s existence.  I watched him and listened to his theory and it made sense.  However, I have all the proof I need in Psalm 8:3. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained.”

Those who don’t believe that God is our Creator are without hope.  Apparently they think when they die they will just no longer exist.  They don’t realize what waits for them after death.  Anyone who believes that they evolved from a cell, an organism, or an ape is not very smart.  They cannot prove any connection to a human and never will.  What is really amazing, is that David had to ask God about it.  “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?  

I think we don’t respect God for who he is. That’s why David inquired.  David knew how great God was.  He is not a big man in a white robe who sits on an enormous throne high in the sky.  We know he has a face, hands and a back.  In Exodus 20:18, we also see his awesomeness, “Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." How terrifying to stand in the presence of Almighty Jehovah. Just remember that one day you will stand before Him and you will kneel before Him. 

God has even put man in charge of animals, beasts, birds and the fish in the sea.  How can we explain this by saying that it is just the way it is; or it just happened?  Man has spent centuries trying to show others what a mighty hunter, business man, how brilliant they are, or what a winner they are.  They (meaning man and woman both) are always trying to prove themselves to be better than anyone else. They don’t have to prove anything, they only have to accept Jesus as their Savior.  God has already given them everything they need.  Just believe.

If we really loved God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we would show Him the respect and reverence he deserves.  Just when I think I ‘got it’, my ugly self, rises up and makes me think about the next thing I can say or do without direction from Almighty God. God took us from a baby to giving us strength to stand against the enemy of our souls and raised us up to a point of being made just a little lower than the mighty angels of God. (vs. 5)

He has shown us how to pray and realize the power of prayer.  It is only fitting that we pray to him and honor Him.

“O LORD, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name

In all the earth!” Psalm 8:9