Topic: Your Plans or God’s Plans [Joyce Meyer Devotional 18 May 2020]
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You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.— Psalm 16:11 (AMPC)
As we’re walking with Jesus, one thing we need to learn is how to wait for God’s plans to develop. He perfects everything that concerns us, so we’re always better off when we follow His plan and timing instead of ours.
During the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, many people thought He was crazy. His own brothers were embarrassed by Him, and in an effort to save their reputation, they told Him He needed to either go do His works somewhere else, or to start acting publicly and stop doing His works in secret. They tried to convince Him that it was time to show Himself and His works to the world. In other words, they wanted Jesus to impress the people with what He could do. He responded to them by saying, My time (opportunity) has not come yet . . . (John 7:6 AMPC).
How many of us could show that type of self-control? If you could do the miracles He could do and were being made fun of and challenged to show your stuff, what would you do? Would you wait until you absolutely knew it was the right time, or would you take action that was not backed by God?
It’s good to have plans, and I believe we should plan boldly and aggressively, but we must be wise enough to know that our plans will ultimately fail without God. God’s Word says, “Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it . . .” (Psalm 127:1). We can build without God as our foundation and watch our plans collapse, or we can choose to let Him call the shots and reap the benefits of His perfect timing and blessings.
Prayer Starter: Father, please help me trust You enough to wait for Your timing. Thank You for giving me the grace I need to follow Your plan instead of mine, and for the blessings You have waiting for me. In Jesus’ Name, amen.