Trust 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.     Proverbs 3:5-6 HCSB

This is one of my favorite Scripture passages. But I must admit, I have just begun really striving to live by it in the last 7 or 8 years. For most of my life, I had these plans. I thought they were really good plans. Once I formulated these plans in my little brain, I ran full steam ahead to make it happen. I did all I could or all that was in my power to get it done. It took me a while to realize I had no power. The only power and strength and control I had was what I got from Him.

I would even pray along the way that God would work everything out. Sometimes He did, but other times He didn’t. The times He didn’t, I just couldn’t understand it. I had made these wonderful plans. I thought they were great plans for me, and I just didn’t understand why God had not gotten onboard with these plans. Why would He not work all this out for me?

The more I studied my Bible, the more I realized He was the planner. He’s the head honcho in this organization. It was me who needed to follow His plan for my life. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”  Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

It would take me a while to realize that God’s plans are so much better for me than my plans could ever be. God knows what my future holds. I have no clue. When He makes plans for me, He knows what is coming my way. When things don’t go my way, I have learned to try my best to be thankful, knowing that God is saving me from problems later on.

It’s been a struggle, but I have even learned to praise God in all circumstances. I will admit it’s hard to do this when things aren’t going your way. This is where we must understand, God has a purpose for our lives. The sooner we fall in step with His purpose and His will for our lives, the better it will be for us.

I had to learn to follow His lead. I had to learn to let He has the control. The biggest lesson I have learned through all of this is I can save a lot of time and headache by simply letting go and letting God. I have learned to do the assignments He has for me to do. I pray for wisdom to know what comes from Him and what doesn’t.

I have learned to trust Him in all I do. I strive to live the way He wants me to live and to do what He wants me to do.

If you don’t know what He wants you to do, I will tell you the only way I was able to figure it out was with having lots of communication with Him through Bible study and prayer. Communication is the key. This is how we know what God wants us to do. This is how we learn how to do it.

We must also accept even when the going gets rough, God’s got good plans for us. Even when the Israelites were taken into captivity, they were told God had good plans for them (Jeremiah 29:11). He took good care of those who trusted in Him. We must believe in Romans 8:28 which tells us all things, even the bad stuff, works for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

Don’t make all these plans and hope God will get onboard with them. Stay in constant communication with Him and understand what it is He wants you to do. I have found life to be much easier this way. Trust me, so will you.

Have a great day!