Not Getting Ahead of God

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                From where you are standing, there is much ahead. It might be a ton of busy, crazy, chaotic, and rewarding. Maybe the future is daunting. On the other hand, when you look ahead, you might see a whole bunch of nothing or vast space that could be filled with –who knows?

                God does.

                You want to be where He wants you to be. If you’re anything like me -and most everyone I know- getting where you should be is a priority.

                It’s not always about “getting ahead” or “getting more,” but simply growing or following well. You know God has plans for you and sometimes it seems like a lot to keep up with. You don’t want to avoid the step He asks for next, so you prepare yourself as best you can for it.

                The decisions you make at work are made with intentions for the future in mind. You choose to take classes, read books, and meet people now so that later you will be equipped for what you think (or dream) will happen. We want to be where God wants us to be, when He calls, without hesitation. It gets stressful, doesn’t it?

Worry is all about tomorrow.  Fear is most powerful in the future tense. God is in the present. And when the present turns into the future, He’ll be there too.

God is not 3 steps ahead of you, waiting for you to catch up. He is with you now.

Though it is wise to open your eyes to bigger picture or your life and to prepare yourself appropriately, the decisions you make now –including those about your future- should be made as He asks.

That future that you think you know too little about or too much about cannot separate you from the love of Christ. Neither can the present (Romans 8:38.) When the Psalmist said that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble,” He did mean that God is even present in our present life, concerns, and matters (Psalm 46:1.)

                Paul testified to this truth in Acts 26:22, saying “To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great.” Imagine speaking those words when you question what your future holds –or when others ask and you don’t know.

                Speak this truth to yourself and to others as worry and planning and looking forward keep your eyes off of Him who is all the way up there –and also right here with you.  

This post is being shared on: #TestimonyTuesday, #RaRaLinkup, Intentionally Pursuing,Titus2sday, and Thought-Provoking Thursday.

Your Plan B is His Plan A

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All together now: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

We need that verse, and we need to know it’s true. As we prepare to head off to college, to become parents, to enter a ministry, it’s important to know that the Lord has a plan. In the good, the bad, and the just plain scary, He does.

Sometimes the Lord’s plan isn’t much like ours, though.

As Proverbs 16:9 famously says: “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”

Plans change, don’t they? Life comes up. Relationships arise unexpectedly. We get new jobs, we face health trials, we find that our best laid plans simply go awry. It happens.

And when it happens, we go to plan B.

Ever been there?

You made a choice that you might now call a mistake. You laid out a future that seemed right and good but life made a choice for you, and now you’ve got to try for something else.

The “else” is plan B. But the good news is, our plan B always fits into His plan A.

“Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” –Proverbs 19:21

That sounds like a paraphrase of the earlier Proverb reminding us that the Lord lays out our steps. Read it again. The Lord’s purposes prevail.

Job 42:2 phrases the truth this way: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Meanwhile, Joseph echoes: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

In Esther 4:14, we read the implication: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Looking to just these few examples out of many, we see the pattern. Life does not always go our way. For Job, Joseph, and Esther, plan A probably didn’t involve wild risks, great loss and suffering, or separation from loved ones. Plan B probably didn’t either…these characters were likely on plans G, N, or Q. But God wasn’t. His greater plan isn't just about us, but it wholly accounts for each of us as well. 

Our Lord knows what’s up before we’re even born. He knows our mistakes before we make them and knows what’s going to change before we’ll ever admit that things aren’t the same. He’s beyond time and wisdom. 

In His goodness, He gives us free will. Our choices are ours. But we can rely on this:

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

All the things He’s working together for good are a part of His plan A. So don’t worry if you’re on B, or E, or K. You’re still on His course, walk in freedom, obedience and repentance accordingly, rather than living with regret, bitterness, or that nagging “what if?”

Gratefully linking to: Esther Girl, RaRaLinkup, and Testimony Tuesday