“The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

You may have noticed that I usually post scripture during the week that coincides with the theme of the post.  That is not the case this week as this isn’t the post that I planned to publish. My body is just too exhausted and my brain is just too foggy to pull that one together.  Ironically it is about strength and I currently have none.  Consequently, this will be more brief than usual and may be a bit of a repeat from this summer’s posts, but it is what God has put on my heart today in various ways.

We all have plans; some are short-term while others are long-term.  Sometimes we are successful in completing them, often they get altered and at other times they are completely cancelled.  To the extent that change is the result of circumstances beyond our control, we must learn to accept that God has a different plan.  Occasionally God later reveals the reason for the change, but quite often He does not.  Those of us with chronic illness regularly face changes to our plans as I am this week. This can be frustrating.  However, God has been using my health to train me to accept altered plans in other areas as well.  Whether it’s health issues, job loss or change, death of a loved one, or any other incident, trusting God means to also trust His plans and believe that, for those of us who love Him, they are for our good and His glory.  It is not necessarily for us to know the reasons, but it is for us to joyfully accept the change as it is God’s will for us.  Further, how often have we prayed the Lord’s Prayer without considering what we are saying?  It’s so easy to let it roll off of our tongues without considering the depth of meaning behind every phrase.  Every time we repeat the words that our Lord gave us, we say “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  The consideration for us is to examine whether they are: words that we say without thinking; words that we know are righteous but have reservations about; or are they words that we choose to live.   May we all choose to accept God’s alterations to our plans truly desire His will to always be accomplished…especially in our lives.

Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand.  (Proverbs 19:21)

May we all choose to do the will of God and live forever.

Will