May all his plans for me succeed

On Monday at our ladies meeting we were talking about blessings and the obvious one was from Numbers:

Numbers 6:24-26 – ‘“‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.’”

Matt Redman has a song, Benediction, which is based on this verse and I used it a lot in my prayers for my Dad when I first became a Christian.  My Dad turned away from church a long time ago and at that stage I didn’t really know how to pray for him so I used to pray this verse over him.  Praise God my Dad has now come back to faith and is walking with the Lord again.

There are a lot of references to God’s blessings in the Bible and I have highlighted just a few below.  Enough to show me that God wants the best for us and to get the best we need to trust, him, be obedient to him and desire him above all other things, turning away from those who would stand in our way.

• Jeremiah 17:7-8 – But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit
• Psalm 20:4 – May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed
• Psalm 34:8 – Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him
• Psalm 119:2 – Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart 
• Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
• Psalm 1:1- Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers

BLESSINGS

May the Lord bless me, may the Lord see how I trust in his amazing grace, may he turn his face towards me, let me be like the tree planted by his stream of living water, let my roots grow deep, my leaves forever green, let me bear much fruit, may I keep his statutes and seek him earnestly with all my heart, may his word never depart from me, may I never seek the company of those who mock or scorn, may I never mourn without his comfort, may I never fear, let me sit in the shelter of his wings as I take refuge from each storm, may he provide warmth and safety, may all his plans for me succeed, may my heart’s desire be based on higher things, may my songs of praise ring out for all my days, bless me oh Lord along my way, make your face to shine upon me, be gracious to me, turn your face towards me and give me peace.

There’s excitement in obedience

“God has a vision far greater than my sight” – J S Park

Understanding the “bigger picture” can be hard.  However, we don’t have the vision of God, we don’t see all the puzzle pieces, we just see our own.  God’s plans are immense and perfect, they are in his timing and to his agenda.  But we can rest assured that they are plans for welfare and not for evil, plans to give us a future and a hope.

• Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths
• Proverbs 16:9 – The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
• Isaiah 58:11 – And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
• 1 Corinthians 2:9 – But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

OBEDIENCE

The excitement in obedience, what has God got in store for me? Plans for his glory, plans to use me to magnify his powerful name, nothing the same as I expected as God works his perfect plan out in my life, his ways more beautiful than my disappointments, his plans greater than my deepest fears, powerful, incredible, the working out of every detail to my advantage, satisfying my desires in the desert, building my strength and going to incredible lengths to maintain me with streams of living water, he never fails me, his timing is perfect, and should I forget to trust in him the Bible reminds me again and again, trust in God’s plans, trust in his ways, all my days ordained and written in his book, I don’t need to take a look I trust and I pray, I give away my own desires and ask only that God fires me up to do his will, I trust in God, I am still.

don’t procrastinate, defer or delay, Jesus calls you today

Since my brother’s death at just 55 years old I have been thinking a lot about God’s plan for our lives.  We don’t know what God has in store and we don’t really know how long we have.  A lady in our church celebrated 100 years last year, my brother sadly only 55.

So what am I going to do with my thoughts?  I am going to embrace even more boldly the plans he has for me but also feel I want to encourage others to do the same. What’s the old saying, “don’t put off until tomorrow what could be done to day”, really sums it up.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God created us for a reason, surely we should actively seek to give ourselves back to him and be open to seeking the purpose he has for us and obeying him on following it, not tomorrow, not next week but today.

We were created for God’s Glory – Isaiah 43:6-7 – I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

We were created to Praise God – Psalm 86:9 – All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name, Psalm 86:12 – I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever

We were created to spread God’s word – Psalm 96:3 – Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples, Isaiah 12:4 – In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done and proclaim that his name is exalted.

We were created to use the talents God has given us – Romans 12:6-8 – We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

NO HESITATION

Step into the plan, step up, don’t hesitate or it could be too late, don’t procrastinate, defer or delay, Jesus calls you today, created by him, perfection created with affection, created with a specific direction in mind, good works, created like fireworks we must light up the sky, don’t let time pass you by as you look for excuses, don’t lose sight of the fight, the battle we are in, don’t let Satan into your mind, don’t let him interfere with your calling, don’t put God’s plans on the shelf, don’t put to waste the wealth of potential that you may feel is inconsequential to God’s mighty plans, man you have no idea what scheme you could be part of and doesn’t that excite you, made to praise, made for God’s glory, finish his story praise and glorify him throughout all territories, make him King of your life, tell him that you too will sacrifice as he did for you, declare his name throughout all nations, that’s what you were created for, use your talents, use your passions for they are God given.

Stop rushing, recognise the work that’s going in to perfection

It is so important to me to yield to God’s will.  Even now I have 101 plans spinning round in my head, but I know that they are not all of God and I want to make sure that I follow his plans, not mine.  Sometimes it’s too easy to rush headfirst into something thinking we’ve got it right and then praying afterwards, when it should always be the other way around.  Pray first, then act!

Luke 22:42 – Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

NOT ME BUT YOU

You know where I’m going, you know where I’ve been, you’ve seen all my planning and all my dreams, you have a great purpose, a plan for my life, not my will but yours God, I pray for direction to follow, I pray for patience as I wait, I ask for knowledge to recognise your plans cos I know they’ll be great, chosen for greatness, selected for service, trusting in your Grace, I need to stop rushing, recognise the work that’s going in to perfection, how many elements need to be in place before I can step into this part of the race, movement of people, resources and mindsets, in order to gain the best from your plan I need to stop thinking like a man and lift my mind to heavenly places, anointed to bring good news to the nations, the Kingdom of God established, your perfect plans for the rest of my life the blueprint, never underestimate the power of God, he’s in it, all over it, I’m not settling for less than the best that God has in store, he knows where he’s taking me and I want some more.

God delivers us from evil, redeems us from the life of the pit

God’s plans for us are so perfect.  I have been reading the story of Joseph again as well as the early years of Moses.  What struck me was how intricate God’s plans are and how things that happened years before happen to serve a purpose for his Kingdom.

ABSOLUTE

God’s absolute plan, absolutely perfect, intricate, a plan defined and refined by a God who knows what he’s doing, God delivers us from evil, redeems us from the life of the pit, how great are his miracles and how mighty his wonders, we may squander some opportunities but he never ceases to believe in us, never stops loving us, never gives up on us, his plans waiting for us to grasp, he restores the years the locusts have eaten, he keeps on leading us in his paths of righteousness, he knows where we’re going, he’s been there before us, his plans glorious, perfect for us so even if you feel like giving up, stand up, look into his eyes, ignore the enemy all his deceit and lies and look to your Saviour your Lord and your King, behold he is doing a new thing and believe me his plans for you are without rival, his plans are for victory and for revival.

How vast the plans you have for me, how exciting they seem

I have been asked to do something tomorrow which is a bit “New” for me however as I started to think and ask God about it I thought, “Step Up”.  I went to my journal cos I remembered these words from a few months back and found a page I had entitled “Calling” with some verses, comments and drawings and right there at the bottom of the page – STEP UP is written clearly.

On that page one of my references is Isaiah 42:16 – I will lead the blind by ways they have not known along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them  and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

God is with me always – I can step up and step out in confidence

VAST PLANS

How vast the plans you have for me, how exciting they seem, taking me on a journey which is so new, the untrodden path, unfamiliar yet strangely enticing cos you are lighting up the way and although I cannot see the final destination there’s a kind of elation that comes from stepping out in faith, a voice that says, go on you can do it, a voice that reassures that through it all you’re by my side, you make the rough ground smooth, you move the mountains, you turn night to day and light up the way, your guiding arm around me and if I falter it could never alter your love for me, you are with me, will never leave me nor forsake me, so however crazy it may feel if you ask me to do it then it becomes real and reality with you is never going to be dull, it promises to be full of adventure, full of favour and I praise you that you’ve allowed me to see a glimpse of  your awesome plans for me

His plans too creative for my narrative

I was reading an article this morning and this verse just jumped out of the page and slapped me in the face!  I love this and what’s more I believe this:

• Habakkuk 1:5 – Look…and watch–Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you” 

How exciting to think that God will continue to astound us.  On Sunday we were looking at creation and that is amazing in itself but I think in many ways the works God is going to do in our day are going to astound us so much more in a different way. Just trust and believe, ask and receive.

LAST DAYS

We are living in the last days of the last days, what more can I say? Look around, watch, be amazed at our God who works in ways we will never understand, his plans too creative for my narrative, his thoughts towards us too numerous to absorb, his transforming power never failing to amaze and confuse as his actions collide with our expectations, prayers answered with faultless precision, how completely satisfying to see his provision as God continues to defy our understanding of limitations proving that with him nothing is impossible, look and watch, be totally astounded, work for him with unbounded energy and at the end of the day your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, your body exhausted but your eyes sparkling with joy, deployed by God to do his work, putting in the footwork of a faithful servant, fervently pursuing a heavenly calling, not knowing but believing that God’s works are even greater, exceeding all we could be told, withhold nothing from your God as he works in power to astound us, be serious, watch, receive, trust and believe.