When Our Plans Get Cancelled

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:13-16 ESV)

We, as followers of Christ, should make all our plans lightly. Well, first of all we should pray and make certain that what we plan to do is not contrary to the will of God for our lives, and that it aligns with the teachings of the Scriptures, and/or that it is God’s specific will for us at that moment in time. But whatever we plan to do, which we believe aligns with the will of God, according to the Scriptures, we should always leave room for the Lord to make changes to our plans at any moment that he deems necessary.

Now, this obviously does not include us planning to obey the Lord in a specific area and then us retreating from obedience and then blaming it on God as though it was somehow not his will that we obey him. And I have to say stuff like this, because so many people today are twisting the truths of the Scriptures so many different directions in order to justify doing what they know is wrong and that is evil in the eyes of the Lord. And some of them will blame God if they are not resisting Satan and fleeing temptation.

Anyway, our plans need to align with God’s plans for our lives and they should not be outside the will of God in any respect. But all plans are still subject to the will of God for our lives at any moment in time, and so he has the full authority to interrupt any of our plans if it suits his purposes and if it accomplishes his will in a different direction. For we can be doing good in the eyes of the Lord, and not evil, but he may send us a different direction than what we had in mind, because his plans are greater than our plans.

Let me give a personal example of this. Back in 2004 my husband and I were “church planters.” He was going for his ordination and I was going for my consecration, and we were both headed in the direction of moving our ministry to college age adults into a “church plant” under a specific church denomination. We both had planned to attend our denomination’s district prayer conference for all official workers within our specific area, but my husband injured his back, so I went alone to represent our ministry.

From the moment I arrived at the conference the Lord Jesus began speaking to me through the messages that were being presented there. The primary messages which were jumping out at me were:

• Preach the Word of God, not the teachings of man

• Listen to God, hear what he is saying, and then obey him

• What you are going to do, do it NOW

• You were appointed by God as a herald and a teacher of true faith

• God has given you a clear sense of his purpose and an urgency…

• Fan into flame the gift(s) of God within you

• Give your ministry over to God – it is NOT YOURS; it is HIS

• God may have something else for you to do not even thought of

• Write down what God shows you. Wait for him to bring it about

• What you are going through is much bigger than you can imagine

• NOW is your time, for such a time I was placed upon the earth

• The church is in crisis, the crisis of Supremacy 

• It is indistinguishable between evangelical Christians and the world

• We need to return our focus to Jesus and the cross of Christ

• We need to get our focus off of the teachings of humans

By the end of the conference it became abundantly clear to me that the direction I was headed was not the direction that the Lord had planned for my life, but truly he had other plans for me which he then began to unfold before my eyes through the Scriptures, and partially from my grandmother’s journals, which then culminated in the Lord calling me to this ministry of writing down what he teaches me from his word each day and to place these writings on the internet so that a herald (the internet) could “Run With It.”

So, don’t get set on what you think is the direction for your life. Definitely do not head in the direction that is contrary to God’s expressed will for all of our lives. But always leave the door open to hear from the Lord if he decides it is time to send you a different direction, none of which will ever be contrary to what the Scriptures teach are God’s will and purpose for our lives. And realize that even what we might consider a bad thing, when plans get cancelled, might be an open door for the Lord to use you in a different way.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

A Believer’s Prayer 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray 

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

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