Are you seeking after God’s plans?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. “
(Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV))

What is it that you seek after will all your heart?

Is it wealth? Is it fame? Is it fortune?

Is it God?

Far too many people seek other things before they seek God. They give “lip service” to God and then live as if they did not proclaim Him as Lord. In other words, they do not seek Him with all their heart. They have replaced God with a multitude of personal “gods” that they let control their lives. All of this is done in the name of prosperity, greed, security, and a number of other ideals that they have set for themselves. They look upon God as a benevolent, jolly “old man” who watches as his children do something not quite righteous. They then expect God to tell them that what they are doing is ok because they are loved and can do no wrong.

God is not like that!

He wants each of us to turn from our sinful ways and to turn one hundred percent toward Him. He longs for us to seek after His heart, for He longs to prosper us in ways that we cannot imagine. He longs to give us hope and a future. Unfortunately, too many of us look toward ourselves for the hope of the future and we look to God as our “parachute,” our safety net.

We need to look to God first in all things!

God created each of us for a purpose. That purpose was not to lay devastated within our sin. He created us to be with Him. Do you think that the creator of all the universe lacks for anything? He is ready to prosper each of us according to His riches, but first we must have a change of heart. We must stop seeking after the prosperity and seek after God first.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
(Matthew 6:33 (NIV))

Are you seeking after God’s plans?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Has the Lord’s purpose prevailed in you?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
(Proverbs 19:21 (NIV))

Everyone has plans for things that they would like to do. Some are for career paths. Others are for personal goals, while others are simply whimsical notions that we think would be fun to see fulfilled.

What plans have you had for your life?

How successful were you in fulfilling these plans?

Are there any plans that did not get fulfilled and now that time has passed, you are happy that they did not come to be?

It is human nature to plan out our lives. We choose what classes to take, what college to go to, what people to date, and what jobs we would like to have. Sadly, in this process of self-indulgence, we fail to seek guidance from the One who created us. We fail to recognize that we were created for a purpose and until we find and follow that purpose, we are fighting against the Lord!

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
(Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV))

Have you spent time listening to the Lord as He unfolds His purpose for you, or have you spent your time trying to tell the Lord what you want you purpose to be? One will lead to fulfillment while the other will lead to frustration. When you seek the Lord, His purpose will prevail in your life.

Has the Lord’s purpose prevailed in you?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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We must listen and respond!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!
(Exodus 14:15 (NLT))

I often wonder if God is saying that to me. How many times has God laid out plans for me and I fail to see them? How many times do I simply sit and wait for God to do something for me when all along He has created a path for me that I fail to see?

I am sure that the times that He has done this is far greater than I want to admit. Let’s face the truth, we are all probably in this predicament more than we care to admit it. If we were capable of discerning God’s call upon our lives every single second of our lives, then we would not find ourselves in the situations that often arise.

Does this lack of action have anything to do with out lack of faith?

We long to hear God tell us what to do. We long to have Him intervene in our lives and provide us direction. We long to be able to discern His still, small voice, yet, we often ignore it when He does speak to us. We are like so many people from the Bible who looked for large, miraculous signs and wonders to provide assurance and to guide them. We need to not look toward these examples, but look to Elijah. He understood how God speaks to us.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
(1 Kings 19:11-12 (NIV))

If we are to do what God is calling us to do, then we must learn to recognize His voice and hear when He speaks.

Be still, and know that I am God
(Psalms 46:10a (NIV))

We must listen and respond!

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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