My Plans or God's Purpose
The first week of my senior year at OU is now over, and I am SO excited about what God is doing.
This year already looks quite different from last year, and I am okay with that. It's no secret that last year wasn't my best. Even though I was growing in God, I definitely went through some of the harder times in my life relating to school, finances, trust, and relationships. I took a lot of time this summer working on reorienting my heart toward God and letting Him shape it. It wasn't until last night that I began to realize all He has done. When I was worshipping at Paradigm, this sense of peace and gratefulness just overwhelmed me. For the first time in a while, I felt like I could fully say, "I'm okay. I'm actually better than okay, and I know that God's got this under control." It's hard to explain, but I felt that in that moment, I saw all the ways God had been transforming my heart and making me new, even when I hadn't noticed.
A verse that I've carried with me came to mind in that moment.
Many are the plans of a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
If you know me, you know I am a major planner. I always have my planner in my bag. I like structure and order, and I like to know what's coming next. For the longest time, I took that verse to mean that as long as I was following God, my plans would be His plans. Basically, I was substituting an "and" for the "but".
Ultimately, many of my plans fail. I usually don't know what's best for me. The beauty of that verse is that even when we have plans that fail or that simply aren't good plans, God's purpose will prevail over that. As much as I like control and plans, I really would rather have God's purpose leading me. After all, He tells us that He works things for our good and calls us to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Whether through blessings or hard things, He's doing it for my good.
Proverbs 19:21 is a comfort to me, as well as a challenge. I am challenged to consult God about my plans and to seek His purpose for my life. I am also challenged to trust Him, even when I can't understand what He has for me.
I do know that He has a purpose, and I'm beginning to see that unfold. God is working on this campus, in this city, and in my life. I have had the privilege of being involved in that in several different ways just in the past few weeks. He's opening so many doors for me. So now I'm focusing on walking step by step through those doors with Him, and I ask and believe that He is doing big things so that His purpose is fulfilled.
This year already looks quite different from last year, and I am okay with that. It's no secret that last year wasn't my best. Even though I was growing in God, I definitely went through some of the harder times in my life relating to school, finances, trust, and relationships. I took a lot of time this summer working on reorienting my heart toward God and letting Him shape it. It wasn't until last night that I began to realize all He has done. When I was worshipping at Paradigm, this sense of peace and gratefulness just overwhelmed me. For the first time in a while, I felt like I could fully say, "I'm okay. I'm actually better than okay, and I know that God's got this under control." It's hard to explain, but I felt that in that moment, I saw all the ways God had been transforming my heart and making me new, even when I hadn't noticed.
A verse that I've carried with me came to mind in that moment.
Many are the plans of a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21
If you know me, you know I am a major planner. I always have my planner in my bag. I like structure and order, and I like to know what's coming next. For the longest time, I took that verse to mean that as long as I was following God, my plans would be His plans. Basically, I was substituting an "and" for the "but".
Ultimately, many of my plans fail. I usually don't know what's best for me. The beauty of that verse is that even when we have plans that fail or that simply aren't good plans, God's purpose will prevail over that. As much as I like control and plans, I really would rather have God's purpose leading me. After all, He tells us that He works things for our good and calls us to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Whether through blessings or hard things, He's doing it for my good.
Proverbs 19:21 is a comfort to me, as well as a challenge. I am challenged to consult God about my plans and to seek His purpose for my life. I am also challenged to trust Him, even when I can't understand what He has for me.
I do know that He has a purpose, and I'm beginning to see that unfold. God is working on this campus, in this city, and in my life. I have had the privilege of being involved in that in several different ways just in the past few weeks. He's opening so many doors for me. So now I'm focusing on walking step by step through those doors with Him, and I ask and believe that He is doing big things so that His purpose is fulfilled.
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