Making Plans...
We are creatures of habit,
Programmed by this world,
Habits that lift ourselves on high,
Because that's how Satan started,
By lifting Himself up,
And so it goes,
On and on,
Into our generation,
In subtle ways,
That seem normal,
And even wise.
When it comes to making plans,
What are some programming that we have,
That we may not know about?
For example...
How would you feel if you didn't have a "big plan" to share or brag about?
Would you feel like you lack vision?
Would you feel less impressive?
Would you feel like you're not measuring up?
Did you know you felt that way about NOT having a "plan"?
Is that a good thing or not?
How do you know?
We must look at God's word to see what He says about making plans,
And how making plans has shown up in the lives of those in scripture.
First, let's look at Abraham...
When God called him out from his father's land,
Did God give him a grandmaster plan?
Eventually when God gave Abraham a grandmaster promise,
Did God lay out a 1 year, 5 year and 10 year plan?
Has He ever?
With Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, anyone?
No.
Cuz the TRUTH is...
"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."
God's plan comes to fruition through the process of teaching you how to TRUST, WAIT and be OBEDIENT.
But in our society and culture,
We want to plan things out,
We want to 2x, 5x, 10x our business,
Build an empire,
While running with our hair on fire,
Creating chaos,
Destroying our health,
Starving our relationships,
Thinking we're doing this for a "good cause" or for God,
When the fruits of our labor is NOT that of Holy Spirit.
"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
If you're consistently impatient,
That's NOT God,
If you're consistently stressed,
That's NOT God,
If you're consistently aggressive,
That's NOT God,
If you're consistently obsessive,
That's NOT God,
If you're consistently can't turn your brain off,
That's NOT God,
If you consistently can't BE STILL,
That's NOT God.
There is scripture that says,
"The HEART of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."
However...
"The HEART is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
So what does that mean?
When we follow our HEART,
It's a problem.
When we follow our HEART,
Without asking, seeking, waiting on God FIRST,
We can THINK we are doing good,
We can THINK we're building our business for God,
But we can be building our own tower of Babel.
Here's a simple litmus test...
If your current method of operating,
Is CAUSING you to NOT BE STILL,
To NOT spend time with God,
To NOT SEEK Him first,
To NOT LISTEN for His voice,
Who's more happy,
God or Satan?
"Be STILL and know that I am God."
God NEVER said to follow your heart,
Instead He told us,
"SEEK FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
"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."
We are in the habit of using OUR knowledge,
OUR experience,
OUR logic,
OUR plans,
OUR vision,
And say it's FROM God,
Or it's FOR God,
And SKIP the waiting and listening part.
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
We naturally make a lot of plans,
Scripture even says so,
Only God's plans will stand,
Which means MOST if not ALL of our plans will not,
Because if they are not rooted in SEEKING God first,
Being PATIENT and waiting on him,
And using our impatience as an excuse,
That's NOT God,
That's our own flesh.
God designed us to HEAR Him.
"My sheep HEAR my voice, and I know them, and they FOLLOW me"
For those that have not YET learned to HEAR God's voice,
That's ok.
Just know this...
You are DESIGNED to hear His voice,
Have no doubt about it.
"FAITH comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"
We have HOLY SPIRIT within us,
The same HOLY SPIRIT that raised Jesus from the dead,
The same HOLY SPIRIT that caused Paul to perform sign and wonders,
The same HOLY SPIRIT that gave John prophecies and revelations,
The same HOLY SPIRIT lives in us.
So how does it make sense that we can't hear God's voice?
Because Satan has done ALL he can to trick us into thinking we can't.
Satan has also created a buffet of distractions to keep us busy,
To keep us entertained,
To keep us over-stimulated,
To keep us over-stressed,
To keep us over-scheduled,
So that we can't hear Holy Spirit even when he's speaking to us.
Holy Spirit's voice comes in the form of a thought,
To discern your thoughts,
To know whether it's you,
Or God,
Or Satan,
Is a spiritual discernment skill,
?And it can be LEARNED.
God wants to DESPERATELY teach it to you,
If you ask Him,
If you seek Him,
If you earnestly desire Him,
And you're willing to lay down the distractions,
To be STILL and WAIT,
And have the heart to FOLLOW Him,
God WILL teach you.
So what will it be?
Do you want to learn to hear God's voice?
Do you believe that you are designed to do so?
How badly do you want it?
If you want it,
Show it,
Get on your knees,
Pray,
Ask God,
Earnestly,
Daily,
And He will surely cause you to FIND His voice in your heart and mind.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to hear Your voice,
I want to know what that feels like,
I want to know what that sounds like,
I want to know...
Will you teach me?
Will you show me?
Will you guide me?
How do I start?
Where do I go?
What should I do?
YOU know,
YOU'LL show me,
YOU'LL guide me,
YOU'LL help me find my way to Your VOICE.
Thank you,
That's all I need,
YOU.
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to SEEKING God's voice FIRST before anything else.
He will SURELY guide your ways,
Learn to BE STILL so you can,
Seek,
Listen,
Obey.
