We can look to God to teach us all that we need to know. It is through our faith that we are able to lean on God to learn from Him. It is also through faith that our heart can be united in seeking Him. The world would have our hearts divided on what we are seeking. Oftentimes, our heart is selfish and we want to seek self fulfillment. However, it is when we are humbled in knowing that God is who teaches us all that we need in this life our heart is able to fully seek Him. When we seek Him and trust in His guidance we have a desire to praise Him. It is through praising Him with our whole heart that He will lift us up. Let us look to Him in everything so that our plans may be glorified by Him.
Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
Psalm 86:11-12 NIV
We can have confidence in our relationship with God. We can be secure in His love for us and all that He wants for us. Our response to all things in life can be held with confidence that nothing is against us because we are with Him. This kind of faith is what helps us to stand strong in all that He has set us to do. The reason we can be so confident is because He gave His son for all of us. This we know without question. We are God’s chosen. God has spoken for us all. Our trust in His way for our lives validates His son’s sacrifice and all we set out to do is made complete through this trust. Without confidence in our relationship with Him we are relegated to fear and worry. Living life in this way will never move us forward. Let our belief in the strength of our relationship with Him grow and never diminish by the doubts of the world.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Romans 8:31-33 NIV
Considerations for your planner:
- Is your heart united on one thing? Write down where you are feeling called to and invite God to train you on the way you should go.
- How much confidence do you have in your relationship with God? Write down the areas of life you worry about and place your confidence in God for these areas.
A Story of Learning:
When I was in elementary school I was under my older brother’s care when coming home at the end of the school day. He was 5 years older, and it was the choice my parents made instead of paying for unaffordable child care. The problem with this was that the responsibility soon turned him into an authoritarian. I was to obey “or else.” The verbal and physical abuse went on until he went away to college. No discipline tried by my parents stopped his behavior.
During the later part of my undergraduate collegiate studies and through the early years of my marriage I resumed contact with my brother. He hadn’t changed at all. He was still controlling and verbally abusive. I had begun a Christian based Christ centered 12 step program to try to find out the root of my troubles. I set a boundary with him of no contact. I finally learned to surrender to God. I stopped trying to do God’s job for Him. It was like being let out of a straight jacket in an isolation cell and bursting through the prison wall that had surrounded me all my life. For I know the plans I have for you…not for evil but for good. It’s true, but you can’t make another person come to realize it’s for them too.
I was able to share my joy with my sister, 8 years my senior. My brother won’t listen at all. So my sister and I turned him over to God. We prayed for months and months and months for God to do something that would turn our brother back to faith. When you utter such prayers in faith with the belief God will answer you need to “Be strong and Courageous” as God told Joshua many times. For my brother it was pancreatic cancer. I don’t know if he was fully reconciled to God, that’s between the two of them. From outward appearances, his treatment of those around him including me on our last visit was well hidden. The cancer took him in March 2020.
What I’ve learned is that God is the ultimate healer and he works all things for good to those who love Him and strive to follow His commands. His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. In surrendering everything to God, you will ultimately know about all those wonderful things He has prepared for us.
- Diana Anderson
Strengthen the Christian Planner Family by sharing your experiences. We'd love to hear a story about God's work in your life. Use the form linked below to submit your story.
