09 08 08 Finalize the Plans

“A person plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps.”
(Proverbs 16:9 NET)

We all have good intentions for the most part. Most of us want to provide for our families, do an admirable job at work, and help those in need. Trouble comes when we make so many plans yet have no clue how to carry them out. It’s good to plan and it’s good to plan to be successful, but success has so many different meanings in this world! To be successful in God’s eyes, we must allow Him to FINALIZE THE PLANS.

We can lay out our desires and then ask God oversee them. He loves to be a part of every detail of our lives. It brings Him joy to be a part of the little things and big plans as well. God knows the bumps ahead and the traps that have been set in the jungle. Giving Him final navigational control prevents costly and some times deadly mistakes. Know matter the odds we face, when we face them with DADDY in the lead, we face them successfully. I don’t know about you, but His experience far outweighs my skills.

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ announces the Lord. ‘I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come.’”
(Jeremiah 29:11 NIrV)

God had not terminated His relationship with Judah. He remembered His promises of restoration from Deuteronomy 30. We are no different. Even though we stray, God still desires for us to return to Him and to find that personal and intimate relationship with Him. No matter how often we fall on our collective faces, God will bring us back to that place of peace, tranquility, and security only He can give if we gently seek His presence.

To experience that relationship we need to be humble and respond to His calling in a reverent, repentant, and respectful manner. We can’t have it both ways: pleasing the world and pleasing God. To be in close relationship with a holy God, we need to live a holy life. This is only possible by being in submission to His Holy Spirit. We can’t do it in and of ourselves. It must be by His guidance and under His direction.

God knows His plans for us. Even when we face the most challenging situations, God has already figured out a way for us to not only make it out, but to bring Him glory as well. He can do what He wants, when He wants and how He wants to, but He won’t force us to accept it. Are we willing to let Him carry out the plans He has for each of us? Will we let Him FINALIZE THE PLANS? If so, we have to hand over control to the Master planner. We have safety in His presence and an anchor in a turbulent world.

“The person who rests in the shadow of the Most High God
will be kept safe by the Mighty One.
I will say about the Lord,
‘He is my place of safety…’ ”. (Psalm 91: 1-2)