Friday, April 17, 2020

No Plan of God will be Thwarted

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land. Numbers 14:38 

The decisions and disobedience of others will not cancel God's will for you. Other people's actions will affect you, but no one can prevent what God wants to do in and through you. Joshua and Caleb trusted God and yet were forced to wander in a wilderness for forty years because of the fear and disbelief of others. Have you ever felt that someone was thwarting God's will for you? Perhaps someone kept you from getting a job or earning a promotion. Perhaps the government would not approve your application or a committee disagreed with your recommendation. Do you believe that mere man can stop God from accomplishing His purposes in your life? God did everything He intended to do in the lives of Joshua and Caleb. His primary assignment for them had not been to enter the Promised Land but rather to serve as godly leaders for their people. Joshua and Caleb could not lead the people if they were in the Promised Land by themselves while the people were still wandering in the wilderness! God kept these leaders in a position where they could exert a godly influence upon their nation, and, as a result, they became models of spiritual leadership for generations to come. Even so, God ultimately brought Caleb and Joshua into the Promised Land just as He had said. They had been delayed but not thwarted. Be assured of this: No one can hinder God from carrying out His plans for your life. Once God sets something in motion, no one can stop it (Isa. 46:11). - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

This devotional is spot on in my life at the moment.  Some may wonder, how so?  Well, it had appeared that I was to move up in the company I work for, that both hard work and results would show proficiency.  Someone else was chosen. 

I have been through enough jobs since 2013 to know that God's plans are never thwarted.  If He intends for me to do something, I will eventually be doing it.  It's also entirely possible that I misread where I am to be going career wise.  In either case it's not God who messed up.  Either that door wasn't for me or it isn't ready to open for me. 
Regardless, there's lessons to be learned.  I am asking for feedback from those who interviewed me to show me where I can improve.  Was it me or something else?  

The truth of life in a believer is the same as the truth in the Bible.  When God makes a decision, it's always the right one.  

I would be lying if I said that I was heavily disappointed that my hard work and determination didn't result in that position.  But it may be what's needed to be seen by those in management to put me in a better position in the company. 

If it's one lesson that I have learned...don't think you have the whole picture.  If we really did, we would play God and try to force our will to be done to make things happen.  

I don't know what my future holds. Be it at the place where I work or some other company.  Lesson learned for me is regardless of my age, I can still learn. I still have abilities that haven't been realized yet. 

Was reading in Luke this morning.  Jesus was visiting the home of a Pharisee.  The parables He was speaking of had to do, really, with this sort of thing.  When invited to a banquet, don't assume that you are important enough to sit in the place of honor.  Someone else more distinguished than you might have been invited. Then, in your embarrassment, you will be asked to move. 

We don't see enough.  But what we do see should be enough to trust God for the future.  

Scripture is filled with prophecies that have either already come true or will be shortly.   Jesus said that Heaven and Earth will pass away before even one jot or tittle fails in the Word of God.  Those are the two smallest markings of their language.  

People in this world want their way in everything.  They want status, they want homes that servants care for.  They don't want to work.  They long for the approval of men and women.  They crave the attention that approvals give.  Nobody wants a life that's the opposite.  Truth is those who do have everything are the most miserable.  Because life is more than possessions or power.  It's found in Christ.  The rich young ruler in the Gospels was greatly distressed because Jesus told him what he must do to find what would be fulfilling.  Give up the pursuit of it and follow Him.  He didn't say that God couldn't use Him in the place where he was in life.  Jesus told him that God needed to be his focus, not what he had or what position he had in society.  He said 'trust me'. Give what you have to the poor and follow Me. The man obviously knew how to accrue wealth.  But he lacked life.

Living for Jesus is life.  Being the instrument of leading people to Christ is far more important than anything the world can offer.  Treasure in Heaven.  

People today believe they have rights for this, rights for that.  According to Scripture, we have a right to die because we are sinners in need of a Savior.  The Plan of God for man is eternal life in Christ Jesus.  We choose for it or against it to our own peril.  But the Plan remains.  Mankind's attempts at creating various religions doesn't change God's Plan. 

All man made religions lead to Hell.
Only a life in Christ leads to Heaven. 

Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  That Plan comes true on a daily basis, both in this world and when people die. I have stated it before.  Everyone in Hell believes that God is real and that they missed it. God's Plan was before them and they tried to reject it. The consequences were not thwarted.  Unless you believe in Christ Jesus as your personal Savior, you will not be going to Heaven. That part of the Plan of God has never been thwarted. 

Even this virus was part of God's Plans. 
People who would never have set foot in a Church were coming to online services and were finding Salvation in Christ.  Had it not happened they would still have been lost.  God established through Daniel the Prophet, a plan for humanity.  It will not be thwarted.  Every part to date has come true.  So will the rest. 

Consider your life today, if you are a Christian, are you living as the rich young ruler or as a Disciple?  Are you crying out to God because you think you have rights or are you living in obedience?  

If you are not a believer, realize that if you can read this, God's still giving you a chance to come to Christ and be saved. 

Jesus wants to give you so much more than you realize now, if only you would let go and come to Him. 

Trust and Obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and Obey. 

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