Tag Archives: trusting gods plan

November 12, 2025 · 5:46 AM

A Meek Heart

I saw a meme that said, “Remember before the internet when we thought lack of knowledge was the problem?” The internet had provided limitless knowledge at people’s fingertips, and now add in AI. However, wisdom is different than knowledge. Wisdom tells us how to use knowledge . One of the things that the internet has done is it has stopped the practice of younger generations from going to older generations to seek wisdom. It has put the value on knowledge over wisdom. 1 Corinthians 8:1 says that knowledge puffs up, meaning it is a doorway to pride. Throughout the Bible God rejects prideful hearts because they act on knowledge instead of faith in Him.

In Genesis 11, we read the story of the Tower of Babel. The population was growing and spreading eastward until they came to a plain. Then they said, “Come, let’s begin work to build ourselves a city with a lofty tower that rises into the heavens. We’ll make a name for ourselves, a monument to us, instead of being scattered all over the earth” (TPT). This tower wasn’t just about architecture. It was a symbol of their pride to stop following the mandate to multiply and fill the earth. Instead of serving God, they served themselves to make their name great in the earth. God saw the trajectory of their hearts and put a stop to it.

In Psalm 131:1 we read an humble statement from David in a prayer. He said, “Lord, my heart is meek before you. I don’t consider myself better than others. I’m content to not pursue matters that are over my head— such as your complex mysteries and wonders— that I’m not yet ready to understand.” I believe David’s humility is why God chose him to be king. He understood there are things beyond his knowledge and ability to grasp. His humility caused him to rely on God instead of his own knowledge. Where the builders of Babel lifted their eyes high, David bowed low. Where in your life are you trusting in knowledge over trust in God’s plan? Where are you using knowledge as an excuse to serve yourself instead of God. Let your heart be meek before God. Let him handle the things beyond your ability and knowledge as your faith and trust guides you along His mandate for your life.

Photo by Alaeddin Hallak on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 9, 2023 · 5:43 AM

Yielding To God’s Process

In high school I was on the varsity basketball team. At the beginning of each season coach would run us a lot to condition our body. He would make us do jumping exercises too so we could increase our vertical leap. It was after we were worn out that we would begin shooting practice. He wanted us in mid game condition so we could learn to shoot while our boys was tired. After that, we went through our plays and then ran some more. Finally, we had to make 100 free throws before we could leave. Coach always pushed us hard because he understood that while we had skills and talent, there was a gap from where we were to where we could be. His job was to increase our skills and our endurance which meant he had to push us.

Early in the Gospels we read where Jesus called the disciples to follow Him. Some were fishing when He asked them to give up catching fish so they could learn to fish for men. Matthew was in his tax collection booth when Jesus called and redeemed him. Each one he called was asked to give up their life, their routine and their normal life in order to learn from Him. They lived a nomadic life while they listened to each sermon, watched the compassion Jesus had and asked questions around the campfire at night. Jesus pushed these 12 men to be more than they were. He taught them, trained them and gave them opportunities to put into practice what He did. When He went to Heaven, they grew even more and turned the world upside down. It didn’t make sense to the outside observer, but because they had spent time with Jesus and submitted to being disciples, they changed the world.

Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now all discipline seems to be painful at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it” (TPT). God sees potential in you and wants to help you reach that potential. There’s a gap between where you are right now and where you could be. In order to get there, you’re going to have to submit to His process of discipleship. You’re going to have to endure being uncomfortable, being pushed and stretched so that He can produce in you a harvest like you’ve never experienced. It starts with yielding to Him as the authority of your life. You must give Him control rather than just letting Him be a guide. Discipleship is sitting at His feet, learning from Him, giving up what you want for what He wants and accepting His plan over yours. Only then will you reach the potential He’s placed in you and bring in a harvest like never before.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 13, 2023 · 5:37 AM

Understanding Later

As a parent, you often have to make hard choices for your kids. There may be certain music you won’t let them listen to or movies you won’t let them watch. There are games you prevent them from playing that all their friends are playing. It could be a party or get together that you keep them home from. You’re doing it for their good and their future, but many times they don’t understand. They accuse you of all kinds of things when you make tough decisions. You hope that one day they will understand and appreciate what you did for them even though it was uncomfortable at the time.

I’m sure Joseph didn’t understand when he was attacked by his brothers, sold into slavery and put in prison in a foreign country. At the end of the story we see that all his troubles were about maturing him and putting him in position to save his family. His great grandfather faced some difficulties as well. Abraham was asked to move away from his family and the life he had always known. He wasn’t even sure where he was headed until he got there. God’s promise to him was 25 years slow in the making as well. Because he obeyed and was uncomfortable during a season, he was able to see and live in the land God would give his descendants. All throughout the Bible we see where God asked people to do uncomfortable things without them understanding in the moment. He was asking them to trust Him with their future.

In John 13, Jesus and the disciples were in the room about to have the Passover dinner when Jesus put on an apron, got a bowl of water and began washing their feet. Peter protested and didn’t want the Messiah to do such a lowly task. In verse 7 Jesus replied, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later” (GNT). We usually don’t understand much of what God does for us in the moment. It’s often uncomfortable or even painful, but He has a plan. In every case where I went through difficult situations and I look back on it years later, I can see the hand of God protecting me, positioning me and growing my faith. If you’re there now, trust His plan and know that while you do not understand now what He’s doing, you will later on in this life or the next.

Photo by ROB WILSON on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 5, 2022 · 4:36 AM

God Is Good

A friend was telling me about a lady who went to his church. Her son was in his twenties and had started serving the Lord when he passed away unexpectedly. She was devastated over it, but she still tells people how good God is. She was asked, “How can you talk about the goodness of God when you have had such heartache?” She replied, “My circumstances don’t change the goodness of God. Who know what could have happened to my son in the future? Perhaps it was the kindness of the Lord to take him home early.” Her perspective on God is right on and contrary to how so many would feel. Most of us would get bitter towards God or be ad at Him at least. Her story reminds me that o matter what comes my way, God is still good.

Job was a person in the Bible who also experienced great loss. In a matter of minutes he found out that his livestock and animals was stolen taking away his wealth and income. His workers who were planting crops were also attacked and killed taking away his future food security. Then his children were killed by a collapsed house taking away future generations. In that moment, he tore his clothes in grief and dropped to his knees. Instead of cursing God or asking Him “why”, he worshiped God. He reiterated God’s goodness and acknowledged His sovereignty. Even though he didn’t understand why it happened, but he still made sure to keep the proper perspective on things. He came into the world with nothing and he would leave with nothing. God gives and God takes. He then blessed the name of the Lord.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose” (AMP). There are times when your circumstances don’t look good, but God still is good. Things may be a mess right now, but messes are incubators for miracles. Difficult circumstances are the things that God uses to work out His plan in our life and to grow our faith in Him. I don’t know what you’re facing today or what you’re going through, but I do know that God is good and He is working things out for your good through it. Stand on this promise as a firm footing when everything else seems to be slipping away. Be like Job and profess God’s goodness even when it may not feel good.

Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash

9 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 4, 2022 · 5:41 AM

Seen By God

How do you react when everything seems to be going wrong? Sometimes your fight or flight kicks in. Flight seems to be the first choice for many of us. We just want to get away from everything, crawl under a rock and try to hide from it. A pity party is also a popular choice. There’s nothing like giving up and complaining that life just isn’t fair. Then there’s the “Why, God” approach. We complain to God about how we’re being treated and wonder if He even cares. I can say I’ve been through all these at one time or another. However, there’s also the choice to let hard times push us closer to God. When nothing makes sense, it only makes sense to search for the One who can make sense of it all. He also is an excellent place of refuge.

In Genesis 16, Abram and Sarai had decided to help God fulfill His promise to them of making them parents. Sarai gave her servant Hagar to Abram to have a kid with, then they would take the kid and raise him. Except when Hagar got pregnant, she began to look down on Sarai. SoSarai became vengeful and treated Hagar so harshly that she chose the flight option. While she was away, desperate, broken and in need, God found her and sent His angel. After giving her a promise for her soon to be born son Ishmael, she gained hope. In verse 13 it says, “Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ She also said, ‘Have I truly seen the One who sees me?’” NLT

God sees us in our distress. No matter how far we run or how big of a pity party we have, His hope is that we will search for Him and trust His plan. Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.” God has not abandoned you in your time of need. He’s not left you to fight your battles alone. You may not see it, but going through difficult seasons is often how He builds our faith, course corrects and draws us closer to Him. His desire is that we will search for Him and fully rely on Him. You can trust in Him and in His plan especially when you can’t see the way forward. He is a good God and has a plan you can trust in even when it seems all hope is lost. He sees you in the middle of your storm. You are not forgotten.

Photo by Michal Matlon on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 24, 2020 · 5:53 AM

Place And Position

God has placed in each one of us a feeling that lets us know we were meant for more. It’s a holy calling that reminds us to keep moving forward and that the place where we are now is only temporary. He uses places in our lives to prepare us for positions He wants to give us. However, when we become discontent in the place we’re in, the enemy plays to our sympathies telling us we deserve a higher position. His plan is two fold. First, he wants to get you out of the place you’re in prematurely before God has finished His work. Secondly, he wants to make you desire a position that is different than the one God has for you in order to slow you down in your progress towards God’s plan.

David’s place was a pasture. The position he was preparing for was king. He had to remain in the pasture watching sheep facing lions and bears in preparation for being king. He had to go into a valley to face a giant, and he lived in caves running from King Saul. I’m sure his mind was telling him he deserved his position in the palace while he lived in those caves, but he didn’t give into the voice. He trusted God’s plan and timing for him to receive the position. Each time the position presented itself to him to take, he stayed in his place waiting for God to open the door. Because of that, God honored him in the position of king more than any other king.

In Mark 10, James and John wanted the position of Jesus’ right and left in the new kingdom. Jesus asked if they were able to endure the suffering that comes with those positions. Ignorantly they said yes. In verses 39-40 Jesus said, “You will certainly drink from the cup of my sufferings and be immersed into my death, but to have you sit in the position of highest honor is not mine to decide. It is reserved for those whom grace has prepared them to have it” (TPT). They wanted a position before they were prepared in their place. The beautiful thing Jesus illustrated here is that grace prepares us in the place we are in now for the position He has for us. His grace is sufficient to guide you and strengthen you in the place you’re in right now so He can give you the positions He’s planned for you. Be patient and trust His plan and ignore the sympathetic lies of the enemy.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 29, 2019 · 5:51 AM

Joy In Pain

In the darkest time of my life, I was so upset and angry I couldn’t eat or sleep for days. In the night, I would lay down, but I couldn’t sleep. As tears rolled down my face, i began to sing a couple of songs I learned as a kid. The first one was “The Joy of the Lord is My Strength,” and the other one was “Rejoice in the Lord Always”. As depression and bitterness we’re trying to make theirselves at home in my mind, I could only combat them with these songs. I knew that I was in a bad situation and that adding in those two things would make things worse. I tried to remember that God knew what I was going through, even if He wasn’t stopping it, and that joy would give me strength to endure anything.

When I was younger, someone once told me that there’s a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is based on circumstances so it comes and goes based on my condition. Joy is internal and not based on any external situation. It comes from understanding that no matter what my condition is, I’m still loved by Jesus and there is nothing that can separate me from it. When you learn to look at your life through the lens of Jesus’ love rather than your cure circumstances, you learn to have a joy that gives you strength no matter what you’re going through.

Psalm 31:7 says, “I will be glad and rejoice because of your constant love. You see my suffering; you know my trouble” (GNT”. God is very much aware of your pain, your suffering, your stressful situation or whatever you’re facing and He knows how to work it our for your good. Even though you can’t see how anything good can come from it, keep trusting in His plan and resting in His love. Let joy spring up from within you and turn the ashes of what was your life and what could have been into fertile soil for God to do something new and unexpected. His joy will strengthen you and His love will sustain you through whatever comes your way. Keep trusting in His plan.

Photo by Raj Eiamworakul on Unsplash

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 16, 2018 · 5:54 AM

Trusting His Plan

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told my son to get ready, and then, before he gets ready, he asks, “Where are we going?” I usually tell him, “It doesn’t matter. I said to get ready, so get ready.” Instead of quickly obeying, he constantly wants to know all the info before doing anything. As a parent, it can be frustrating. There are things he needs to know, and there are things he doesn’t need to know. I simply want him to obey when asked to do something instead of questioning everything I tell him to do.

Even though I know these frustrations as a parent, when the shoe is on the other foot, I act the same way. How many times had God told me to get ready or to go somewhere, and I want to know all the details before I do anything? There’s also those times where I know where He’s leading me, but I want to know all the steps first. It’s like I’m my own child when God is the father telling me to do things. I wonder how frustrated He gets at our questioning and inactivity while He’s waiting for our obedience.

Proverbs 20:24 says, “The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?” (NLT) As children of God, we need to understand there are things we need to know, and things we don’t. God knows everything we are about to do, and how He wants it done. Since the beginning of time, all He has asked is that we would simply trust Him. He’s looking for our obedience without having to understand everything. We need to have enough faith to trust His will, His plan and His directions without questioning them. Simple obedience yields eternal benefits. Just like the old song says, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way.”

Photo by John Bakator on Unsplash

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 21, 2018 · 5:00 AM

Right Now

Throwback Thursday is a new feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

Do you ever find yourself letting your mind wander through all the possible outcomes of a situation? Before you know it, you can lose a couple of hours or even a day. I’ve been known to lose sleep just thinking about all the “what if’s”. When I was at a dead end in life and was forced to file bankruptcy, I couldn’t find any outcome that was positive. I was worried sick over how hard the next seven years were going to be. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the implications of it, not to mention the embarrassment. I got caught up in an endless cycle of thoughts that were detrimental to my well being.

God knows all too well how our minds work. I think that’s why Jesus dealt with those of us who are constantly living in the future of “what if’s” instead of in the present what is. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus said, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (MSG)” He was very plain in that verse and His words hit home with someone like me.

When I give my attention to the “what if’s”, I take away from what God is doing in this very moment. I lose sight of the reality that He is creating in my life right now. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I have no clue how my current situation will end, but God does. He knows all too well what tomorrow will bring and what I need to do today in order to prepare for it. When I worry about the possibilities, I miss out on what He’s showing me right now in order to help me tomorrow. That’s why He wants me to give my entire attention to what He’s doing today, not what He’s going to do.

In the second part of that verse, Jesus assures us that God will help us with what comes next. He’s not going to let you walk into a trap and then abandon you. He’s not going to hang you out to dry when times get tough. People may do that, but God never will. Jesus said that He will help you with whatever hard things come up and will be there for you when you need him. Deuteronomy 3:18 says, “The Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you.” I don’t know what hard thing you’re facing today, but God does and He’ll help you deal with it. Don’t use today’s energy worrying about tomorrow’s problems. God is with you right now, using whatever it is to produce things in your life that won’t grow any other way. Trust His plan and lean on His strength.

Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,