Plans and Understandings
The Bible says that we make our plans, but ultimately, it is the Father’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
There is nothing wrong with having goals and dreams for our lives. The fact people are out there living out their own dreams means your dreams aren’t so far out of reach.
There is a 0% chance that we win at the game of reaching those dreams if we never take the steps necessary to get there.
Some people, with a less than pragmatic outlook, think we should never step out and try something. Notice I said they are the ones with the less than pragmatic viewpoint, even though it would normally be the reverse.
That’s unconventional, and it is often that unconventional path that is the most rewarding.
If others don’t believe in you, that’s fine. But we should never lose faith in ourselves.
Placing our trust in God’s hands, for our highest good, is the right approach.
Don’t be afraid to align yourself with His power and authority in your life.
If the goal is to be a best-selling author who affects the world significantly, pray that into existence and partner with the Almighty One who holds the world and its paths in His hands and mind.
Maybe it won’t arrive this year, or even six years down the road. But by doing our part and stepping into focus with His help—refining our craft and ability level—we should be able to make that goal.
In my own life, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. And often, it’s good that we don’t know the timing of things. If you truly knew how long some things might take, it might break your heart into pieces, but it’s in the waiting periods we are crafted into the men and women God sees us as.
Our King is outside of time and space, not bound by the present. The time to serve Him and others is present, but He sees us as the end-goal person.
The man I will be at 45 is in His view right now. I’m in my mid-30s and every day I live and breathe I’m thankful that I’ve been given a chance to become the man He envisions. There’s so much more life to live, and the latter years of our lives are greater than the former if we follow the biblical pattern of how God blesses people.
A friend of mine recently said something that stood out to me.
He said, “Who are you?”
This was in reference to his own walk with the Father, but it made something click for me, because I needed to have that conversation with him at just that moment. When we walk with God, we are blessed and favored by Him. When we’re willing to surrender to His purpose and timetables, we can have peace knowing we’ll be in the right place at the right time, and no step is ever a misstep.
In my recent prayers, which are all-encompassing about every side of my life, I told myself, “There are these things I really, really want. But I will not cheat, or lie, or do something the wrong way to cross paths with the things I want in my life.” I asked God to help me do things His way, not my own way.
Sometimes those things are always on our minds, and we need to learn to let the “how” go. That’s God’s job to worry about how or when something finds its way to us.
I’m darn sure I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. I feel ultimate contentment, but I need to be brave enough to make the right choices and changes necessary for growth.
Life is a complex, intricate ecosystem of choices and diverging paths.
And I’ll say it again. I’m light-up-my-soul happy.
There’s been new doors opening for me recently, but I wasn’t ready to walk through them in days past.
With faith, and trust (also faith in Hebrew) we’ll make it without messing up the rest of our lives as well.
Our careers are in God’s hands, and they progress when they’re supposed to. If you’re not ready for a position three years ago, but the door opens now, trust that there’s a reason. Perhaps a door you thought was meant for you took you on a detour and brought you to something that fits your strengths far better than what you chose. Or maybe that door stayed closed because no matter how hard you bang on it, it will never open.
Our love life is also in God’s hands, and He’ll show us the right person when the time is right for us to know. But He’s going to make sure we’re the people we need to be first, and there’s no getting around this. Past betrayals and stubborn hearts often ruin our feelings within the romantic side of our lives. Things might be far more complicated to escape from and those things might take more time than we thought. But our love stories are written in the stars, and when those stars align for us, they won’t let us down. Trust Him with this, and believe what He says, and all will fall into place.
Our relationship with God is the most important thing. Without His say-so, you won’t get too far. It’s okay that you want that car, or that gorgeous house, or even that amazing woman (man) that you wouldn’t find in a thousand lifetimes. Understanding is the first step. You need to surrender it all to Him first. It’s His sovereignty. He wants to give you those amazing things, but a gracious attitude of feeling grateful for the blessings He has given us already will help mold us into people worthy of the bigger blessings.
We can’t mess up His plan for our lives, because He orders our steps. Even your mistakes and shortcomings are used by God for perfect good. And if our mistakes are used for good, what about things that we do on purpose, the things we’re meant to set the world alight with? Wouldn’t they be used for so much more?
Throw in some patience and trust that you’ll manifest the life you desire if you take it all to Him.
Plan to have a greater understanding and understand the greater plan.
