Your plan, or God’s plan?

I like to talk. I talk to friends, family,  strangers, and of course I talk to God... a lot. I often drive without music so I can have long conversations with Him, and I have noticed that I keep giving God great ideas of how to solve the issues I am going through. I offer Him a variety of scenarios and different outcomes as my mind races through all the great possibilities, but most of the time God doesn’t take any of my suggestions and things don’t turn out as I envisioned them. I often forget my place, and lately God has been reminding me how small I really am and how I need to trust Him. How can I know what is best for me? God knows the whole plan, He created it. He knows the beginning, the end, and everything in the middle, every single detail. I only see a snapshot, so small that I can’t even guess what’s happening next. “Now listen, you who say, ‘today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” (James 4:13-15)

I need to humble myself, to understand my responsibilities and capabilities and to follow God’s plan. I keep telling myself, if I thought my plan was good, I can't even imagine how amazing God’s plan for my life will be, because His plans are perfect. “‘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) I know this, I have read it several times, but it is difficult to go from knowing it to living accordingly. So what can we do when we need to humble ourselves before God to have Him guide our steps? The following things help me: 

• What are you focusing on?: Pay attention to what is taking your time and energy. If you focus too long on what you don’t have or what you want, you will miss all the blessings that God has been preparing for you for this specific moment. 

• Know the promises: Read God’s Word and know that His promises are for you. He is faithful and He will fulfill them. Receive strength from His Word.  

• Worship: There’s power in worship. You  may not feel like singing a song of praise, but when you do amazing things happen in the spiritual realm. Worshiping our Lord is exactly what we need… always. 

• Pray: When things don’t work your way, pray. Lift a prayer for yourself, and also for others. Pay attention to the people God is placing in your heart and pray. I have noticed that when I feel down and I pray for other people I start seeing the bigger picture and I get out of my own way.  

• Trust God: Above everything, trust God. Whatever you are going through  right now, trust that God will give you the strength you need to keep going. Trust that God’s plans for your life are better than you could ever imagine and know that you are never alone. 

God doesn’t usually do things the way we think He should and I am so grateful for that. As I look back at my life, I can see that He used the really tough times to shape me, to teach me, to purge me, to bless me, and most importantly to remind me that time in His presence is really all I need. 

Manuelita