The Best Laid Plans...

"I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him. I have put my hope in His word."
 Psalm 130:5

Do you truly hope in God? I mean, when your stuck, the chips are down, and there is no way on earth that you should have any hope? Do you pull back, letting hope die, or do you trust in Him?

I did that this week. I pulled away instead of trusting in Him. I have been going through some trying times at my job. It hasn't been a good situation and I knew that I needed to get out of there. I had a good opportunity to do that, though. I have been trying to get promoted for over two years, and three positions were listed in the last month. I was interviewed for all of them, but in the end, I didn't get any of them.

I was hurt. I worked hard, proved myself, and hadn't earned any of the three. Guys, just in case you didn't know, rejection hurts. But there was still hope - another opportunity in a newer location that might suit me even better. Until, that, too, was taken away.

Guys, when life seems to be coming after you with a vengeance, what do you do? It's easy to say that you would trust in the Lord, but when our own plans come crashing down, things change. But they shouldn't.

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you." Psalm 37:5

Do you commit everything you do, everything you are, to God? I have always prayed for His help when I need it, but that is not the way I should be doing it. I have been doing this backward. Commit before you start something. Don't wait and ask for help after. It makes such a huge difference. I'm sure it would have for me. I might have know that it wasn't God's plan for me to get those jobs, that He has a different plan for me.

The next few verses are probably my least favorites in all of Scripture, but the ones that I most need to take to heart.

"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil." James 4:13-16

Look for God's will in what you do. And when you do go to make plans, seek His will. Avoid the heartache that I had this week. Let Him reign in your life.

That last opportunity, the one that was taken away, has been brought back to me. I still have a chance, but it wasn't anything that I could have done to bring it back. God brought it back to me. I WILL trust Him with this, and not rely on my own strength.

Sam