The Best Laid Plans

1 Thessalonians 5:24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Sometimes the best laid plans, and the best intentions have no bearing on how things go. In times like these there is an opportunity to stay the course, exercise faith and trust God. Monday I made my plans to drive back to Nashville from Washington DC. I would get up early…4:30 am and be on the road by 5ish to beat any beltway traffic and get out of the city early. I needed to get back to Nashville and make some business calls on appointments I had coming up this week. This would not be an issue for me because I like to get up early and drive with sunlight.

Sooooo……I did not get in bed as early as I wanted. When my phone went off, I started my process. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like thunder! No way….  But of course I had not checked the weather. Did I mention I hate driving in the rain? Needless to say it was not just thundering it was raining, windy and thundering. As I stopped to fill up the gas tank the wind picked up. It did not matter that I was under the covered area, the wind managed to blow just in the right direction to soak me. The gas tank was full and I was on my way to the interstate at 5:30…check. As I get on the beltway I was feeling good until the blinding water started blowing up unto my windshield….I guess my car is too low. So after about an hour and a half, I decide to pull off the interstate because I am sleepy, it was dreary and I was worn out fighting the torrential rain. The good news is that I had made pretty good time in spite of the highway fun. I stop at a Starbucks, parked and slept for about 45 minutes. Then I got my dirty Chai and a breakfast sandwich, and hit the road with a new attitude. I had prayed, napped and was believing God that the rain would let up soon. I even texted some prayer warriors to pray my strength….10 hours is no joke to drive alone. Needless to say about 51/2 hours in, the sun came out and it was a beautiful drive the rest of the way! Where the five hours prior to that pretty miserable, yes, but I made it through.

See sometimes life is just like that. Even though the best plans are made, even though we do everything we can to prepare, and even when we have done nothing wrong.  Even though there are things to do when we get to our destination, the storms of life still come. As I hit the 6^th hour of the drive, the sun came out. The rain stopped and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. The same is true for life, the day and hour will come when the dark clouds will part, the rain will stop and the Son will shine on your situation. And sometimes just as you planned you will make it to your destination in time to do just what needs to be done….as long as you keep going. See it is by faith that we overcome the storms of this world. God reminded me as I saw the beautiful clouds and felt the sun shine and the wind blow, that He is faithful to get us to our destination if we just press forward trusting Him. I am so thankful not just to have made it back to Nashville, but that I serve a God who promises to ALWAYS bring me through the storms of life to victory through faith in His power! Amen.

Burst, Torn Into Pieces & Spilled!

I don’t know about you, but when I have tried to do things before I was ready, or even before others were ready for it, it has felt like all my plans burst, my life was torn into pieces and all the ugliness of the situation spilled onto others around me.  See I was trying to do a new thing, push a new idea, or do something new and I was not new.  The bible says that God makes all things new.  The word makes is in the active tense.  It is the “act of making”.  Everything in your Spirit man is immediately made new when you truly accept Jesus in your heart.  But true conversion of ALL of your mind, will & emotions takes time.  Over time your mind & thinking becomes renewed, you learn how to keep your emotions in check, and you surrender your will to God’s will for your life.  This is an ongoing process that keeps your life growing, making things fresh and new from day to day. 

BUT, when we get ahead of God, when we become zealous for things that are not for this time, and when we are trying to prove something, we can potentially try to do a new thing with an old mindset, old intentions, and old willful emotions.  When our old tries to do the new, it can get messy.  The Word of God says it best this way:

Matthew 9¹⁷ Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; for if it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved. (AMP)

What God does in our lives, He wants to last and bear fruit.  He wants our blessing to be a blessing.  He wants how we have been comforted to allow us to comfort others.  He wants us to show that love He has shown us to others.  The Lord wants our freshness in His Spirit to be preserved so it can last…..so it can be spread. 

Wait on God to change you.  Wait on God to make you new.  Only He knows your process.  His work in you will be perfect and complete.  Messy lives can burst and spill onto others, and also tear hearts to pieces.   Don’t be messy, wait on God’s timing, it is always perfect.  His love will make all things new in your life at just the right time.  It might not feel like it, but it is what it is, you will see if you wait.

James 1⁴ But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. (AMP)

Philippians 1⁶ And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. (AMP)