Archive for God’s will
Book Review: “Plan B” by Pete Wilson
Posted by: | Comments
If you have ever been walking down the path you had planned for your life and come to a roadblock that kept you from continuing to fulfill the plan you had, then you will appreciate this book!
As someone who is facing a “Plan B” in my life at the moment, it was refreshing to read the stories presented in the book (Biblical references and personal references from Pete) and see that there are others that are facing an end to the path that they had planned as their “Plan A” as God takes them down another path that may hurt at first, but also prepares them for who He wants them to be for the rest of their lives.
Pete’s writing is simple and down to earth, and is very genuine, not preachy. I it easy to provide a bunch of Scriptures and tell someone that everything will work out for good. But to hear stories of how people, including the author, faced and end to their own plans and embraced what God has for them is a great inspiration and compels you to seek out God’s Plan A.
I really appreciated what Pete wrote about Joshua and the Children of Israel as Joshua takes the mantle from Moses and prepares to lead the people. Pete writes:
God is just giving him a little pregame pep talk: “Joshua, just remember what you know. Be strong. Be courageous. And whatever you do, don’t forget I am with you.”
God has a few words for Joshua’s people as well: “Don’t live in fear. I don’t want you to make the same mistake you parents did. Listen to me, pay attention to my instructions, and everything will work out for you.
Finally, God makes the whole nation a promise: “If you trust me, if you’ll follow me, I’ll be with you. Every place you set your foot in that land, I’ve already gone ahead of you. My power will be available for you. You’re not going to have to undertake the rest of your life on the power of just your own resources.”
Here is the deal, and really the point of the book. What you consider to be “Plan A” in your life may never happen. If it does not, we need to remember that God is sovereign, that He is in control, that He works from the future back and has already been where we are headed. As long as we trust Him and follow Him, what we may consider to be “Plan B” will actually be what God intended for us from the very beginning.
You can read a sample of the book by clicking on this link.
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to review this book, which was provided to me by Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze.
Grasshoppers or Giant Killers – Part 3
Posted by: | Comments
The last installment from this post and this post…
So, the Israelites forget all that God had done for them in the past, and they measured the task by their own strength. We also see that…
- They viewed things in their own perspective rather than in the light of God’s promises.
In Numbers 13:33, the Bible says that the Israelites “saw the Nephilim,” compared themselves to those giants, and decided that compared to the giants, they were like little bugs.
God had already promised them the land, yet the Israelites lived as if this was all going to depend on them to accomplish. NEWS FLASH: God has already won the victory! What He says he will do, He will do! He is faithful!
We can get so wrapped up in things and our circumstances around us that we forget that God has already promised to take lead us to a determined end. If we are going to be “Giant Killers” and not “Grasshoppers,” we have to remember the promises of God.”
Ok, one more!
- They were more concerned about their circumstances that they were God’s will.
In Numbers 13: 27-28 the Israelites said, “It is all like God promised it would be… It is good like God said… It is just as He promised…” And then they said, “But…” (vs. 28) . They recognized God’s will and then saw it in the light of their own circumstances (the people that were in the land) and they decided God’s will was just not worth it.
I know many people that have done the same thing. They think they want to follow God’s will until they see the circumstances around them as they step out to follow God. Then, they just decide it is not worth it to follow God’s plan for their life.
It is not always easy to follow God’s plan, but it is always worth it!
If we are going to be “Giant Killers” and not “Grasshoppers,” we have to focus God’s will, not the circumstances around us.
Let’s strive to live like Giant Killers, not Grasshoppers!
Grasshoppers or Giant Killers – Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsContinuing from this post…
Not only did the Israelites forget all that God had done for them in the past, but…
- They measured the task by their own strength and not by God’s might
In chapter 13, verses 31-33 we see Israel say “Those people are much too strong for us.”(31) Then they described the people of the land saying, “the people are like giants.” (32) Finally, it culminated in them saying of themselves, “They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers.”
But they forgot one thing: they were not alone! God was on their side! It didn’t matter what their strength was, because God was able to handle it, if they would just let Him!
It is easy to sit back and judge the Israelites, but how many times have we tried to do something in our own strength and leave God out of it? We try things on our own and then if it doesn’t work, we go to God and ask Him to take care of the mess! How much easier would it be if we just let God do what He said He would do and believe Him!
If we are going to be “Giant Killers” and not “Grasshoppers,” we have to go in God’s strength, not our own!
Grasshoppers or Giant Killers – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsI am amazed when I read through the Old Testament and see God’s people, Israel, as they constantly complain. I know it is human nature to complain. We all know people who have that “gift” of complaining. But think about it, time after time Israel would find themselves in a spot that only God could rescue them from, and He did. Yet they would literally forget about it overnight and continue complaining. Amazing! Yet, I believe you and I would have done the same!
In Numbers 13 and 14, we see the same old complaining Israel as they are just on the brink of going into the promised land. They send out some spies to look at the land and report on it. Those spies come back and tell Israel that the land is all that God had been promising them… it is an amazing place! But, then you get to Numbers 13:33, and the spies reported the they saw the people in the land and said, “we felt as small as grasshoppers.”
After all Israel had seen God do, they get to this point and freeze. They end up not getting to go into the land yet, and an entire generation had to die off before God’s plan could be accomplished (because of their attitude). Israel made some major mistakes as they approached the promised land and what the spies saw. Let’s look at just one today:
- They forgot what God had done in the past as they viewed the seemingly impossible task at hand
In Numbers 14:22 God reminded them that they had seen His power, but as they looked at what was before them, they forgot all that God had done already!
We do the same thing, don’t we? We come to a difficult situation in life and we forget all that God has taken us through already. We forget His love and grace and forgiveness that He has displayed toward us. We forget that He has delivered us from sin, and from temptation. We decide that this is the one situation that He cannot take us through, but we are wrong! He will take care of us now just as He did then!
We cannot live int he past, but the past is a great teacher for us. If we want to be “Giant Killers” rather than “grasshoppers,” we cannot forget what God has done in the past as we look at that which is before us.
Divine Detour
Posted by: | CommentsOk, I promise, this is the last post on Mark Batterson’s Wild Goose Chase. God is just so good to encourage and motivate with the right words at the right time in your journey, and this was too good not to post. Hopefully is can be an encouragement to someone else as it was to me…
“Tired of divine delays? Feel like your life is a divine detour? Let me remind you of three things: (1) The longer you have to wait, the more you will appreciate; (2) sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is hang in there; and (3) a sense of humor can get you through just about anything. And one more thing, no matter how crazy the Wild Goose chase gets, don’t forget to enjoy the journey!”
Sure, it is hard to enjoy every aspect of the journey. There are times when you will feel mistreated, unloved and taken advantage of. But here is the deal, it is in those times, the times that are tough, that we are able to grow closer to God. The detour that has appeared in your life is not a surprise to God. He has already been there, ahead of you, to plan everything as He wants. We just need to change our perspective, and look at it as a divine detour that will ultimately lead us to be who God wants us to be.
