Tag: perfect plan

A Perfect Plan for Our Lives

Matthew 20:23
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

The apostles, James and John, were seeking a position in heaven that was not in the will of the Father. God had a place prepared for them that certainly exceeded their imaginations, but it was not at the right and left hand of Jesus as they had asked.

We have been taught that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and it will be granted to us. This is true, but our solicitations can be granted only if what we ask is in the will of The Father. This can cause spiritual confusion for us when our prayers are not answered or, more correctly, have not been answered according to the desires of our flesh.

God has been faithful in providing institutions on earth which can help us to understand how this precept works. As parents, we can recall times that we withheld things from our children because we knew that is was not the right thing for them at the time. What they were asking for did not fit in with the overall good that we were seeking for them. As business leaders, we have denied the requests of good and faithful employees because it was not in alignment with the company’s vision and business plan.

Almighty God has prepared things for us that have been in place before the foundations of the earth were formed. Everything that He grants us through His Son is in accordance with His good and perfect plan for our lives in His kingdom. When we reach our place in the kingdom, we will find it to be beyond our imaginations.

Let us seek the will of God in our lives. Let us live confidently in knowing that the Father will release to us everything that we ask for that is in alignment with our eternal good. Let us praise Him when He withholds something from us for we know that He has something better planned for us. Let us rejoice in His goodness and His faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us in Your kingdom. We bless the name of Your Son, who You have given us to be our mediator as we seek Your grace in our lives. Teach us, Lord, to seek those things that are according to Your sovereign will and pleasure. We pray that the Holy Spirit will redirect us when our petitions are of our flesh and not of the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We ask all these things in the name of the True Foundation, Jesus Christ.

Resting in the Joy of His Provision

Matthew 6:34
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God has a perfect plan and purpose for our lives. He commands us not to fret or worry about our circumstances. He promises that He will work out all things for our eternal good if we seek first His kingdom. It is His plan that we come to Him daily with our prayers so that He may give us the strength we need to overcome our trials and so that He may set a hedge for us against the temptations that will be flung our way.

We must seek to find hope and joy in our circumstances as we learn to trust in God to fulfill His promises in our lives. We should avoid seeing ourselves trapped by our worldly trials. Instead, we should seek the comfort and peace of seeing ourselves gripped firmly in the hand of God – the only secure place in the universe.

Let us rejoice in the Lord Our God. Let us trust in His promises. Let us seek all that He makes available to us through His Son, Jesus. Let rest in the joy that is provided for those that trust in the Lord.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for being the author and finisher of our lives. We rejoice in knowing that Your hand is always upon us as long as we abide in You. Teach us, Father, how to look past our troubles in this world and look to the source of our solutions, Jesus Christ. We pray that our focus will always be on Our Savior and not on our problems. We ask all these things in the name of Our All Sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

When We Are Challenged to Change

Acts 9:4
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

Saul thought he was doing everything right. He was on fire for his spiritual cause. Unfortunately for Saul, his cause was grounded in his own reasoning without a foundation of faith in Jesus and without the direction of the Holy Spirit. Saul rightfully could claim an “A” for effort. But he was not being accused by Jesus Christ for his efforts, he was being challenged for the self-driven misdirection of his efforts.

Just like Saul, all of us will face a day when the Lord challenges us. As with Saul, Our Lord has grounds to accuse us. While Jesus may not have grounds to challenge us for persecuting His church, He probably will have a strong case for challenging us on the grounds of our obstinacy in following our own will and not fully surrendering to the call of Our Lord on our lives.

While Saul surrendered his old life and became Paul, the apostle, we may have hung closer to our old nature than the new one that Jesus has for us. While we may not have been strongly challenged yet, at some defining point, like Saul, we will all be strongly and directly challenged by Jesus to denounce our old lives and accept our calling as His disciples.

Let us set aside our own plans. Let us seek God’s plan for our lives. Let us submit to God’s plans for our lives with the same fervor that Paul did.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Your Son. We praise You for setting aside a perfect plan for our lives in Your kingdom here on earth and in heaven. We rejoice in knowing that we will serve You for all eternity. We pray, Lord, that we will not be directed by our own ambitions, but be led by Your Holy Spirit. We claim Your promise that through Your Holy Spirit, Your strength will be perfected in our weakness. We beseech You, Father, that You grant us a double portion of Paul’s fervor for proclaiming Your Good News to the world. We pray these things in the name of our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

How Prayers Are Answered

Matthew 20:23
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

The apostles, James and John, were seeking a position in heaven that was not in the will of the Father. God had a place prepared for them that certainly exceeded their imaginations, but it was not at the right and left hand of Jesus as they had asked.

We have been taught that we can ask anything in the name of Jesus and it will be granted to us. This is true, but our solicitations can be granted only if what we ask is in the will of The Father. This can cause spiritual confusion for us when our prayers are not answered or, more correctly, have not been answered according to the desires of our flesh.

God has been faithful in providing institutions on earth which can help us to understand how this precept works. As parents, we can recall times that we withheld things from our children because we knew that is was not the right thing for them at the time. What they were asking for did not fit in with the overall good that we were seeking for them. As business leaders, we have denied the requests of good and faithful employees because it was not in alignment with the company’s vision and business plan.

Almighty God has prepared things for us that have been in place before the foundations of the earth were formed. Everything that He grants us through His Son is in accordance with His good and perfect plan for our lives in His kingdom. When we reach our place in the kingdom, we will find it to be beyond our imaginations.

Let us seek the will of God in our lives. Let us live confidently in knowing that the Father will release to us everything that we ask for that is in alignment with our eternal good. Let us praise Him when He withholds something from us for we know that He has something better planned for us. Let us rejoice in His goodness and His faithfulness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for preparing a place for us in Your kingdom. We bless the name of Your Son, who You have given us to be our mediator as we seek Your grace in our lives. Teach us, Lord, to seek those things that are according to Your sovereign will and pleasure. We pray that the Holy Spirit will redirect us when our petitions are of our flesh and not of the fullness of Jesus Christ who dwells within us. We ask all these things in the name of the True Foundation, Jesus Christ.