“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways. This is the LORD’s declaration. For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 HCSB

I wasted so many years of my life doing things my way. I regret not surrendering to God sooner. I think about how much better my earlier years would have been.

Frank Sinatra sang the song, My Way. I cringe when I hear this song. Our former pastor used to sing a song called “His Way.” The words were changed to express how much better our lives are when we do things God’s way.

If you believe in God, then you must believe in His omniscience or the fact that He knows everything. You must also believe in His omnipotence or the fact that He is all-powerful. And, of course, He is also omnipresent, meaning He can be everywhere at once. Knowing all these things about God, why would we even want to do things our way?

I often quote two of my favorite verses here. Matthew 6:33, which says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be provided for you.” When we put God first in our lives, He will take good care of us. We must do the things He called us to do and let Him take care of providing all we need.

The other one is Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.”

If we truly believe in God and believe in His power and the fact that He knows all things, why would we try to go it on our own? Why would we not trust in Him and ask Him to guide us in everything we do?

I spent many years plotting and planning my life. I got degrees and took charge, and did things the way I wanted to do them. When the time came to get that dream job, I didn’t. That just wasn’t God’s will for my life. He had other plans for me. I had struggled so hard to get that last degree, and didn’t get the job. But that’s okay, I would find out 15 years later that God had other plans for me to put that degree to use.

God knew what my future would hold. He knew if He answered my prayer to get that other job, I would not be where He needed me to be. He knew that it would greatly complicate my life. Looking back at how devastated I was when I didn’t get what I had prayed so hard for, I now thank God for it. I thank God for showing me His way. I certainly wasn’t thankful at the time, but His plans were so much better than mine.

If things aren’t going your way, turn to God. He wants the best for you. Even when He placed the Israelites into captivity, He had good plans for them. We can read about this in Jeremiah 29:11. The Israelites are being told they will go into captivity for 70 years, but Jeremiah assures them God has good plans for them and plans to prosper them.

His way is truly the best, but we will struggle when we try to do it all our way. We will suffer when we do not acknowledge Him and honor Him in all we do.

His way will bring peace and joy to our lives. You can do it your way, but I don’t recommend it.

Have a great day!