Day 4

“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

Some years ago, I worked as a farm manager in Zimbabwe in Southern Africa. At one point, I had over a hundred men that were accountable to me. Every morning at 6:30 I would meet the foremen, (though the workers would be present), and I would outline the plans for the day's work. They didn’t come and say, “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve got my own ideas for today. I am going to go and build a wall because I feel in the mood for building a wall.” If they had, I would have said, “We don’t need a wall. We have other things we need to do.” A servant does not come with his own agenda. He submits himself to the agenda of the one who directs him.

Whether Paul was in prison or out of it, preaching in a situation where he was well received, or where they were seeking to destroy him, he could say with confidence “I am where I am for one reason. God put me here.” He did not make his own plans or direct his own paths. His life was lived under the direction of Jesus Christ – whether conscious obedience to His instructions or trusting Him in circumstances that seemed to be disastrous and falling apart.

In the book of Proverbs, we are told, “In all your ways acknowledge God; and He will direct your paths.” Being in the will of God is not for us to orchestrate, but for us to trust that God will orchestrate it, whether we understand it or not. We don’t have to know what God’s plans are – we just have to trust that He does!

Whether we can explain what God is doing or not isn’t the issue. Often, in retrospect, we see what God has been doing, but even then, we have no assurance we will understand. When we try to see what is lying ahead or interpret our circumstances too quickly, we are liable to get it wrong. We are to ‘live by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Are we willing to just trust Him with that?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, no matter how shaken or troubled my circumstances may seem, I trust You in every avenue of my life and thank You for working out your will your way.

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I perplexed and confused by trying to understand what God is doing in my life or do I walk by faith and not by sight?