Are You Following God’s Plan or Your Plan?

We read in Genesis chapter 12 the account of God providing Abram with the following instructions:

1.    Get thee out of thy country

2.    And from thy kindred

3.    And from thy fathers house

4.    Go unto a land that I will shew thee

Abram was instructed to follow Gods plan for his life to reap the benefits He desired for him. Abram would be made a great nation, God would bless him, make his name great; and enable him to be a blessing. He would bless those that blessed Abram and cursed those that cursed him and through Abram would all the families of the earth be blessed.

Why did God give Abram specific instructions? Why was it important for Abram to leave his place of residence, leave all of his family, leave his father’s house and go to a place he’d never been before?

Sometimes in order for God to bless us with the magnitude of the things he has in store for us He has to take us away from everything we know and everyone that knows us. When we are in a familiar setting, have all the resources we need why do we need faith? We may believe we can achieve our desires because we ‘know what we are doing’. How often have you said you can do something with your eyes closed because you have done it so many times?

What happens when suddenly you are moved from your comfort zone or are required to do something you have never done before? You are no longer able to depend on your own abilities. You have to seek assistance. God wants to be the assistance that you seek.

Abrams father worshiped idols. Maybe you hail from a Christian family and maybe you do not. Either way just as with Abram, God wants you to look to Him for guidance. He didn’t want Abram following in the path of his father. Have you ever had family members try to convince you to do something their way, or the way it’s always been done? God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He wants you to do things His way.

Who have you taken with you that you should have left behind? Abram was told to leave his kindred yet he took Lot with him on his journey. As we read further into the book of Genesis we read of strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and Lot’s cattle which caused Abram and Lot to separate. We also read of Lot and his family being taken captive and Abram rescuing them.

Many times we want company on our journey. We are afraid of being by ourselves, we think we are unqualified to do what God has called us to do so we hang on to someone from out past, a security blanket, or we may take someone with us because we are trying to help them out. God is blessing us so we want them to be a part of the blessing.

First, let me say whatever God has called you do He has also equipped you to do and anything you cannot do He will bring people into your life to assist you.

Secondly, if God sends you out and tells you to leave others behind there is a reason. He knows our future just as He knows the future of all those around us. A friend of mine was told of a new job by a friend of his. My friend being the go getter that he is applied for the job, did what was required and was hired by the company. His friend however did not do what was required. My friend constantly pushed his friend, even providing him with money for a class which was needed for employment.

Finally my friend realized as much as he wanted his friend to be hired by this company it was his friend’s decision to do what was required of him. He also realized his association with his friend was impeding his success on the job.

God has blessed each of us with gifts and He will use His gifts as He sees fit. It’s important for us to remember just as God has gifted us He has gifted others. Our gifts differ just as the use of our gifts differ. You and someone close to you may both be gifted musicians. Your gift may be to travel the world and your friend’s gift may be to teach music in a small town. Both gifts are from God and one is not any greater than the other, nor will the reward for one be any greater than the other.

Follow Gods plan for your life. You cannot be someone else and someone else cannot be you. Leave your comfort zone. Become comfortable with the uncomfortable. Allow God to take you to that land that He will show you, where He will bless you, your name will be great, and you will be a blessing.

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

Stay on Track

I hope you used the month of January to focus on your finances and have a plan in place. The key is to stay on track. Remember your financial goals, and work towards them. Don’t deviate. If it’s not in the budget don’t buy it.

It’s important to have a budget when you are pursuing your passion. It’s easy to pull funds from your household budget to fund your dream because of your passion. Don’t let your enthusiasm for pursuing your passion become a financial burden. Remember Proverbs 18:16 a man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. If God has given you a gift, dream, desire or passion, He is more than able to bring it to pass along with all the necessary funding. You are blessed to be a blessing. Your gifts are to be shared. Why would God give you a gift that you could not share? He wouldn’t. The gifts that He has entrusted you with are to edify the body and glorify Him.

Just as you have set financial goals you must also set goals to help you pursue your passion. Where are you? Where do you believe God wants you to be? What are you doing to get there?

What may seem impossible for you is not impossible for God. We serve a big God that gives us big dreams. Whatever God has placed in your heart, you will not be able to achieve without Him so don’t become discouraged when what He desires for you appears unrealistic for you to achieve. It is. As we read in John 15:5 …for without me ye can do nothing.

There will be times when everything will flow perfectly. You will want to pinch yourself, asking is thing really happening. There will be other times when you will feel like nothing is going right, and you will ask yourself was this God or was it me. Count it all joy, the ups, the downs, the good and the bad, but never give up. The journey God places you on while pursuing His purpose for your life is part of your testimony. It is what will inspire others to believe they too can achieve what God has placed in them.

You may feel like you have done everything according to your plan but you are not seeing the results you expect. The operative word here is you. Just because you don’t see what you think you should see doesn’t mean God is not working behind the scene doing exactly what needs to be done so what He has planned for you will come to fruition. While you are waiting, keep praying, believing and thanking Him for what He has done. Keep sharing and encouraging others. It’s all part of His plan.

You have a gift. We all have gifts and once God gifts us He never takes His gifts back as we read in Romans 11:29 for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

If you’ve gotten off track, get back on track. Take baby steps if you must. Sometimes we try to do too much at one time and become lost in what we are doing. Slow down, seek God, ask for direction and move according to His will.

Failure is not an Option; It's an Opportunity

Oftentimes when we don’t receive the results we expect we as well as others think we have failed. Usually before undertaking any project we prepare in advance with an expectation of receiving the desired results whether it’s baking a cake, preparing for an exam, writing a business plan or whatever the undertaking. In other words we have done our homework. If we were preparing to bake a cake we would not preheat the oven and prepare our baking pan without first making sure we had all of the required ingredients.

But even if we have all of the right ingredients and follow the directions we may not receive the desired result. Jackie, a friend of mine bakes one of the best pound cakes I have ever tasted. Another friend Diane asked for her recipe which she provided. Diane baked a cake following the directions but the results were not the same. Some of you may think perhaps Jackie did not divulge all of the information to prepare the cake the same way that she does but she did.

Diane could not figure out where she went wrong. Jackie wasn’t there when Diane baked her cake so she could not tell her what she may have done that was different. Diane told Jackie everything she did and Jackie confirmed everything was done correctly. Diane considered herself a failure saying she couldn’t even follow simple directions.

I don’t like to use the word failure. As a matter of fact when I don’t receive the results I expect rather than say I have failed. I say just that. These are not the results I expected. I now have an opportunity to exam my process and try a different approach. There are no failures in life only new opportunities.

Just like Diane you may think you have followed the directions perfectly but rather than be disappointed think about the following:

Ø  Did I do everything exactly the way I was supposed to i.e. did I cut any corners? Perhaps in Diane’s case the directions were to mix by hand 100 strokes. Maybe she used an electric mixer and just counted 100 strokes.

Ø  Do I have a plan? Diane had a recipe to follow which she did. What is your plan? You may have a desired result or goal but what is your plan to reach your goal? Without a plan you don’t have a map to reach your destination.

Ø  Am I following my plan? If you have set a deadline which requires working an hour a day are you working an hour a day or are you skipping a couple of days and making a decision to combine all of the hours at the end of the week? What happens if something unexpected comes up and prevents you from keeping your commitment to complete all of your hours at the end of the week? Have you failed? No you have not, but you have learned putting things off did not yield the desired results so the next week you make a decision to keep your commitment to work an hour each day.

What if you have set a goal followed your plan but did not receive your desired results? What do you do? Initially you may feel disappointed. No one likes rejection and everyone wants to feel successful. What you must realize is that you are successful because you set a goal for yourself and followed your plan to completion. You may not have yielded your desired results but you now have a new opportunity. Maybe you are a singer and performed a song that was not so well received. Perhaps you performed before the wrong audience. Everyone will not receive your thoughts, your dreams, and your goals with the same enthusiasm that you have. Does that mean they are not good ideas? No it does not. It may mean it’s the wrong audience.

Never give up on what you know God has placed in your heart to do. Isaiah 40:31 but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. If you do not receive your desired results keep in mind God has given you a desire but the path He places you on will be His and may not always coincide with yours as we read in Proverbs 16:9 a man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directed his steps.