Plans

The year is drawing to an end, and for me, every minute is planned out for the next 52 hours or so. But that's okay, because actually my eternity is as well. I'm headed to the fire station in the morning, I think, and there I have my sequence of duties with a few emergency calls thrown in just to complicate things. Then I'll come home, I think, and listen to the events and stories that collected during the 24 hours I was gone. Then we'll prepare for a New Years party, I think, with many of Alan and Amy's friends and their families coming over, if that occurs.

You see, I shouldn't worry about the next few hours or days or years, because God has me in His hand. He's taking me where He needs me to be for His good. He's taking you where you need to be also. We are not to worry about what we have planned for the next day because we are so far out of control for tomorrow's events that only God knows what will happen.

That is not to say we aren't to work or plan or develop strategies for our families and jobs. We are, but realize, that God's plans aren't ours. Isaiah quotes God when He said "I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me." We don't think like God and nor can we, no matter how close we are to Him. We know from scripture that His ways are incomprehensible to us and that needs to be okay. Is everything going my way right now? No. Is everything "hunky dory?" Yeah, because it's what God has for me. I, and you, are only here for a little while. Let's get busy, love what we're doing, be content with where God has us, and love God and all His creation.

Tough Times

Why does God let us suffer at this so called time of joy? Why are the holidays a time of pain and mourning every year for so many? Why does God allow death, pain and destruction in a period of time that we have set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus? So many at this time of year are feeling pain that they don't want to express because of the expectations they sense to show joy.

There are two things we should know: 1. we are to mourn with those who mourn, and 2. we are to struggle well.

God speaks to us about this in Ecclesiastes 3. There are good times and there are tough times, times of sorrow and grief. There is also a great amount of work to be done, and this includes ministering to others. God has placed each one of us where we are today for a purpose; it is His. Labor and sorrow fill the air and our lives, but God never intended for earth to be a place of rest for man. Even in the Garden of Eden, man had work to do. With the downfall of man, we became cursed as a broken vessel of our creator; however, He remains sovereign and Lord over all things, not just what we see as good things. Remember that we were created for God's purpose, not our own. If that sounds selfish of God, think of the grace He has provided for you and me through His Son that He gave as a gift to us. This man suffered more than you or I ever will, and this was His Father's will for Him.

Romans 8:28 gives us this assurance that whatever happens, happens for the good of those who serve Him. We may not see the beauty of God's work now or even later, but we must know in our hearts that God is coming out better because of our suffering. Let us accept suffering and the sufferings of others as a purposeful season of life to bring ourselves or others closer to the One who has given us hope: hope of our inheritance and hope of His presence with us when things seem all wrong. May the God of this world bless you and may we spread those blessings to everyone.