Tag: God’s plans

You Don’t Need To See All The Details Today

Have you ever wished that God would stop holding out on you and simply show you his plan for the next season of life?  I mean, we want to step out in faith and all that good stuff.  But why can’t he just let us in on the secret?  Give us the details?

Something caught my eye while traveling out of town recently.  It was a horse trailer, and the horse was wearing a mask like this.

CACFMASE
PHOTO CREDIT: WWW.HORSETACKCO.COM

I do know a little bit about horses, and there are two common purposes for having a horse wear a head mask like this while they travel in a trailer.

  1. It protects them (mainly their eyes) from insects.
  2. It helps to keep them calm.

That’s right.  The mask has a calming effect on the horse when it can’t see all that is going on around it.  The horse’s owner will remove the mask when the environment is mostly free of harm and distractions.

Meanwhile, the horse still needs to respond to the owner’s guidance.  It doesn’t just stand there.  It follows it’s owner even though it cannot see what it is walking toward.

Sound familiar?

Check this out:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  – Isaiah 55:8, 9

If God is leading you somewhere and you can’t see what it’s all going to look like, that’s O.K.  There is usually good reason.  In my own life, I can think back to many times when I would have not followed him if he had shown me the plan before the journey.  Why?  Because it would have scared me to death!  He has bigger, better plans for you and I.  He provides and equips us as we need it every step of the way.

My encouragement for you today is this.  Be grateful!  What he’s asking of you today may seem like an incredible step of faith, but it’s likely to be just one of many baby steps toward something too amazing to wrap your understanding around.

Could this encourage someone you know today?  Share it online.

Perhaps this was something you needed to hear in your own life today.  Feel free to leave a comment below.

Today, may you be able to fully trust God even in the absence of big details.

 

 

 

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We Cannot Change God’s Plans, But He Can

photo by: www.thegrandsarachis.com
photo by: http://www.thegrandsarachis.com

Has God ever changed his plans on you?  Honestly, I really hate it when he does that.

I’m a planner, and I experience a significant level of anxiety when my plans change.  Early in our marriage, I had earned my E.M.T certification and was enjoying working between a busy Emergency Department and a private ambulance company.  My ‘plans’ were to become a paramedic and work for a city fire department.  Well, guess what?  That never happened.  I studied, tested, and applied at every fire department I could for three years…and nothing!  When I eventually gave up, God told me he wanted me to do full-time ministry work as a pastor.

See what I mean?

God did this to one of his prophets too.  Jonah was told to go to a large city and tell everyone that God was going to bring total distruction on them because of their evil and careless lifestyle.  Jonah didn’t want to do this.  He simply wanted God to destroy them.  In his mind, why warn them?  Eventually, Jonah did what was asked of him.

Then, God does this….

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.  But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.  Jonah 3:10-4:1 (ESV)

The leadership lesson in this story is clear.  Jonah was God’s servant, not his advisor. (Bell, 2008)  The same is true of you and I, especially if we are in any form of leadership within the church.  God doesn’t need an advisor.  He needs individuals who can serve him and trust his methods over theirs.

What does this look like for you?  Where have you trusted him, and when have you questioned?  It’s not necessarily the questioning of God’s ways or reasons that is the issue.  It boils down obedience.  The more we obey and experience how his methods are far superiour to ours, the more our faith in him will grow….thus making obedience easier in the future.

I’d love for you to leave your comments / questions below.

 

Bell, J.S. (2008). The One Year Men of the Bible. Carol Stream, IL. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (www.Tyndale.com)