Very often, it’s a slight movement in the direction we’ve taken that will make a huge difference in our lives. A friend of mine was in between jobs a few years ago and said to me that the time-off was a gift, because it allowed a space for inner reflection and deep thought. A lot of us are so busy these days that we don’t think we can afford to give ourselves a gift like this. We’re rushing from one thing to the next, but now that we’re at the beginning of a new year, we should make it a priority to pause. We need to look at our lives and consider if the things we’re making urgent are really as important to our destinies as we think. Because sometimes they’re not, and we find ourselves expending a lot of energy, but not moving very fast in the direction where God would have us to go. I believe this is going to be a stellar year, and to put the key pieces in motion, there’s another extremely important thing I believe we simply must do.
First, we need to visit the verse that sets our compass for God’s Will. All of God’s Word is extraordinary, but Jeremiah 29:11(NLT) is a particular jewel. It sparkles because it makes the vision of God’s heart so crystal clear. He said, “For I know the plans I have for you…They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” This verse does things for my soul that I can’t express in mere words, and it is because it reminds me of how far I’ve come in the faith. Growing up, I’d hear sage veterans say things like, “I’ll see you next week, if it be the Lord’s Will.” They were expressing both reverential honor and awe for God, and they were also indicating something that they had been taught to be an unpredictable component of His power. They were not simply speculating about whether they’d bump into the person in a week. In their minds, they were conveying humility, being ever so careful not to presume they’d live to see another week. They were hopeful to God but steered clear of being confident in their fate. They believed this pleased Him.
As parents, or even as children of good parents, the question you and I must ask ourselves is whether this is an attitude that would please us. Parents who do their absolute best to demonstrate how much they love their children would not want them to have fear in their hearts for any reason. They’d want their kids to be confident in their love. They’d want this confidence to fuel their kid’s dreams and aspirations. You and I can’t do anything without faith, and even our biological parents know this. Love and fear cannot dwell in the same place; therefore, faith and fear cannot dwell in the same place. If we have faith in God, we must also have faith in His love and provision of health and healing.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the confidence we have what we hope to receive before it materializes or manifests in the natural realm. As we approach this stellar year, one of the most important realizations that you and I must have is that we cannot walk in faith without knowing the Will of God. We have to know what God wants before we can walk in it. Many of my cherished mavens believed that one could never know God’s Will, and that to err on the side of piety would still resonate as faith, but it will not. God imputed righteousness to Abraham because Abraham had a fully-persuaded belief that God was willing and able to do what He said He would do. Faith requires no less from us.
Abraham also understood that within God’s Will is the plan Heavenly Father informed us about in Jeremiah 29:11. They are plans to give us a future and a hope. God does not force us to choose His plan for our individual lives. We can choose to live life on our own terms if we desire, but living life on one’s own terms is very often the opposite of obedience—and make no mistake, faith in God through the Lord Jesus Christ requires obedience. Psalm 119:1-4(NKJV) tells us, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.”
You and I cannot define our purpose outside of God’s Will. Those of us that are born again have a destiny in Christ and a calling to fulfill. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Before knowing Christ, we walked around defining and aspiring to what we deemed purposeful. Now that we’re in Christ, we walk in HIM!
Proverbs 19:21 tells us that we can come up with all kinds of plans, and many of us have for 2019, but it’s the purpose of God that will stand. We may have resolutions and goals, and we may have plans of our own, but the thing that you and I must do is pray for God’s purpose to be achieved in our lives. We must ask Him if we’re on the right path—the path that He has ordained, and we must humble ourselves to hear His answer. And if we’re on the wrong path and don’t know it or haven’t sensed it, our constant prayer should be for a course correction directly from the Father. We must ask Him to redirect our steps and place us squarely on the path that follows His plan. When we do this in humble and earnest submission, we can be certain that God is faithful and will bring His promises to pass in our lives.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“A Course Correction” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.