Proverbs 16:9(NLT)
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
When I was a little girl, my favorite place was my closet. I didn’t purposely choose it but happened upon the discovery when playing with my sister. She and I would play the game hide-and-go-seek, and one day I quickly ran and hid in the closet in my room. It took her forever to find me. As I waited in there, the silence was almost deafening. It was so quiet that my heartbeats sounded like my heart was outside my body. From that point on, whenever I wanted to get away to hear my own thoughts or to be calm and peaceful, I’d hide in my closet. Although it was my little private getaway, I thought it was an odd spot to choose even as a child. Now that I’m older, I understand that no matter where it is, clearing the mind, being still, and getting away for some quiet alone time with God is a requirement.
In the Old Testament, God’s instruction in Joshua 1:8 to His people regarding His Word is, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” We must meditate on God’s Word so we can hear from Him clearly. People may have their own approaches to meditation, but it is important that we slow our worlds down and give God the quality time that He deserves and that we so desperately need.
The most luxurious thing we can possibly do in all of life is to indulge ourselves by delighting in God through meditating in His Word. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in God with all our hearts and don’t depend on our own understanding. We’re to seek God’s Will in everything we do, and He will show us what path to take. Many of us don’t do this because we’ve allowed our busy schedules to get in the way. We come up with our own plans and try to direct our own paths. This leads us down a road in life that might seem right, but it isn’t right for where the Lord wants to take us.
Most of us have a dream that hasn’t yet been fulfilled. We’re still waiting. We dreamed big and made plans, but we must remember that God is the One who directs our paths. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should want to follow in his steps. We should want what God wants for our lives, because this is always going to be the very best; not just for us, but for everyone involved.
The Holy Spirit knows the plan God has for us, and Philippians 2:13 tells us that he, the Spirit, is working within us continually both to will and do of God’s good pleasure. It is paramount that we surrender our plans and offer them up to the Lord. We must learn to live in the here and now of our standing in Christ by focusing only on God and what He requires of us. When we do this, we will learn to recognize the sweet whisper of God’s voice, and then we can respond to what He wants us to do with, in, by, and through us.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“You Have a Plan, But God Has A Better One!” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.