To Be...Established by God
When winter meets spring.
March 15
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Proverbs 16:9
Oh, the plans we make! I had packed up the snowman decorations too early in anticipation of Easter. The snow came and so did the grandsons, so I rushed and pulled out a few festive snowmen, placing them amongst the Easter decor!
The Proverb above is so true. How many plans have we made in our lives without consulting the Lord? Oh, the mistakes I could have avoided. My paths could have been a lot straighter.
"In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:6
How many times do we cry out "Why Lord?" Just this week I did this and God gave me a thought felt answer in Mark Batterson's book Draw the Circle.
"This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in him." John 9:3
(Referencing the blind man and people questioning Jesus on why this happened to him.)
Batterson writes: "Sometimes the purpose of prayer is to get out of our circumstances, but more often than not, the purpose of prayer is to get us through them. I'm certainly not suggesting we shouldn't pray deliverance prayers, but there are times we need to pray prevailing prayers. We need to ask God to give us the grace to sustain, the strength to stand firm, and the willpower to keep on keeping on.
We are often so anxious to get out of difficult, painful, or challenging situations that we fail to grow through them. We're so fixated on getting out of them, we don't get anything out of them. We fail to learn the lessons God is trying to teach us or cultivate the character God is trying to grow in us. We're so focused on God changing our circumstances that we never allow God to change us!
If we're completely honest, most of our prayers have as their chief objective our own personal comfort rather than God's glory. We want to pray away every problem, but those short-sighted prayers would short-circuit God's perfect plan...The best answer is what brings God the most glory."
You have established this day Lord! Show us how to walk in it.
How many times do we cry out "Why Lord?" Just this week I did this and God gave me a thought felt answer in Mark Batterson's book Draw the Circle.
"This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in him." John 9:3
(Referencing the blind man and people questioning Jesus on why this happened to him.)
Batterson writes: "Sometimes the purpose of prayer is to get out of our circumstances, but more often than not, the purpose of prayer is to get us through them. I'm certainly not suggesting we shouldn't pray deliverance prayers, but there are times we need to pray prevailing prayers. We need to ask God to give us the grace to sustain, the strength to stand firm, and the willpower to keep on keeping on.
We are often so anxious to get out of difficult, painful, or challenging situations that we fail to grow through them. We're so fixated on getting out of them, we don't get anything out of them. We fail to learn the lessons God is trying to teach us or cultivate the character God is trying to grow in us. We're so focused on God changing our circumstances that we never allow God to change us!
If we're completely honest, most of our prayers have as their chief objective our own personal comfort rather than God's glory. We want to pray away every problem, but those short-sighted prayers would short-circuit God's perfect plan...The best answer is what brings God the most glory."
You have established this day Lord! Show us how to walk in it.
