Today is the day many of us make resolutions for the new year. Some of these plans won’t make it to the end the week, while others may be life changing. I’ve certainly made both sorts of New Year’s resolutions. I have had some big successes, such as losing over a hundred pounds and reading through the Bible. I’ve also had plenty of failures, such as all the years I said I was going to read the Bible or lose weight, and most certainly didn’t!
As we head into this day of decisions and planning for the New Year I want to remind us of something vitally important. The best plan is never our plan, but the following Of God’s plan. I’ve sometimes operated under the thought that I can make whatever plans I want, pray to God about those plans, and God will simply make them happen. However, that’s not exactly how it works. God knows WAY better then us what the best pathway for our life is, and I’m sure He often shakes His head at our plans. Look at Psalm 95:3-7
3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice. Psalm 95:3-7
The Psalmist is teaching us three big things here.
1. God and His plans are bigger than our plans When we really think about it, it’s fairly ridiculous that we’d ever think our plans could be better then God’s. After all, this is the Creator and King of Kings we are talking about! God doesn’t want us to follow His ways simply to control us, but so that we may have the best possible life, the life he designed for us.
2. We need to kneel before him: One of the most important things we can do is submit our plans and our lives to God. We simply pray: “God I’m giving you the year 2020. Use me and help me to follow your plan.”
3. We need to listen: Sometimes God steps in and tells us that our plans are not His plans, and when that happens we need to listen. When I was younger my plan was to be a youth pastor at a big church in a big city. One day I received the call to just such a church, yet God made it clear that wasn’t His plan. That was an incredibly tough moment. However, I can tell you today that God knew exactly what He was doing, and I wouldn’t want things to have turned out any differently. Listen to God’s yeses and no’s, and follow His plans.
Praying you a 2020 that is filled with God’s love, blessing, and guidance.
