in your life when yielding to God’s will brought you prosperity and peace?
What are some upcoming decisions in your life that you need to give over to God’s care?
Praying with Scripture
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17).
Wednesday
God Directs All Things for Good
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11–13
Just as God spoke peace into the life of the prophet Jeremiah, so too does he assure us of his perfect care for every detail of our existence. We can remain hopeful about the future, whatever it might hold. Ultimately, God has the greatest good in store for us: the glory of his eternal presence
It can be easy to forget, as we get caught up in our own plans, that God has a plan, and his plan includes us. We can trust absolutely in the goodness of God’s design. Those of us who are fathers have seen the trust that our children have in us. They are willing to follow our direction and learn from us because they know we love them and have their best interests at heart. In the same way, we must respond to God the Father like little children, each day taking new steps toward the goals our heavenly Father has set for us. Let us take those steps with joy, knowing our Father is directing all things to the good for those of us who love him (cf. Rom 8:28).
Questions for reflection
What parts of your life are you still trying to handle on your own?
How has your relationship with God shaped your decisions about the future?
This week, how can you help a brother who struggles to trust in God’s good plans?
Praying with Scripture
“A man’s mind plans his way, / but the Lord directs his steps” (Prv 16:9).
Thursday
God’s Purposes for Our Lives Prevail
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,”
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have planned, and I will do it.
Isaiah 46:9–11
Isaiah spoke these words to assure God’s people that the Lord would use the powerful pagan leader Cyrus (whose symbol was an eagle) to restore them to their homeland. The Jews had been taken into captivity because of their sins, yet God’s purposes for their lives would stand. He would bring about the victory. His promise to the ancient Israelites also pointed forward to the coming of Christ, the ultimate source of our salvation. We are part of a wonderful story, spoken into existence from eternity, carried out according to the perfect will of Almighty God.
Just as God has brought us salvation in Jesus, so he guides every aspect of our lives. We sin and stumble on the way, but we can never upset God’s perfect plan. In spite of everything, his plan prevails and will prevail. As we take our many daily decisions and lay them at the throne of God’s grace, we can be certain that he will bring them to fruition according to his wonderful design. What an awesome blessing it is to be able to participate in such a wonderful legacy of love and faithfulness!
Questions for reflection
Have you seen God’s purposes for your life unfold even through unusual circumstances? What were those circumstances?
How has learning to trust God changed your relationship with him?
What good work is God doing in your life today that will have a lasting impact on the world?
Praying with Scripture
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, / but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established” (Prv 19:21).
Friday
We Have No Cause for Worry
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.”
Luke 12:22–31
We need never worry about tomorrow. All the concerns of life, important as they are, are under God’s care and control. God wants to give us what we need, and he always gives it to us joyfully. Even in the midst of our deepest trials, he is there, loving us and providing the strength we need to see the journey through to the end. For our part, he asks only that we trust him for all our needs. We can bring him every pain and sorrow and celebrate every joy with him.
Often we shape our plans around our security and our happiness, forgetting that we have no real control over our future. God, however, has our very lives in his hands. In Christ, we can live free from the cares and concerns about what is to come, and by yielding to God’s care, accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God. There is no need God cannot meet and no situation he cannot work according to his will for those who seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
Questions for reflection
When has God taken your anxiety and worry and brought you comfort and peace?
What are some earthly treasures you might be holding a little too close to your heart?
What can you do to allow God’s will to unfold more freely in your life and the lives of those you meet?
