You Are Never Alone

DAY 15

Take a look at this title again. Isn’t it good to know?

God is with us all the time. It’s like He is standing in the wings waiting for us to ask Him to come out and be involved in our day. That’s what happens when we pray the Proverbs 16:3 AMPC prayer. It goes something like this:

Father, I commit this day (this project, this task or this vacation, etc) to You. 

I ask You to cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will. 

Father, I invite You to give me new ideas and a new way of doing things.

Interrupt me if I am heading down the wrong path that will cause me to be 

confused, overworked and/or overwhelmed.

Thank You for setting things in order for me so that I will be established. 

I am so grateful to You for keeping me on course and successful today. 

This will be an amazing day because You are in it with me.

God will be as personal to you--as you want Him to be.

Isn’t that exciting?? Think about the possibilities! God has unlimited thoughts and plans—way more than you can even think about—and He’s willing to share them with you!

Join me on Day 16 as we discover just how to do that!!

Our Seven Day Recap

Day 14

We are continuing to lay a foundation for developing a successful lifestyle. If you have just jumped on board, I encourage you to go to Archives and click on April. There you will find “Day 1” which is entitled “Developing A Successful Lifestyle.” Begin reading there and in no time you will be caught up to us. When you are caught up, I encourage you to put in your email address and each new post will automatically be sent to your email box.

On DAY EIGHT we learned that we are not alone and that God cares very much about our everyday lives. Aren’t you glad that He does?

On DAY NINE we learned that nothing is too small to turn over to God. He desires to show us just how much He is concerned about everything in our lives.

On DAY TEN we learned that God has the blueprint for our lives and He is very willing to show us which paths to take. He loves us and wants to give us the solutions for every situation that we face.

On DAY ELEVEN we learned God had every one of our days planned out and written in a book. And just like any well-meaning parent, those plans are designed for our good.

On DAY TWELVE we learned that God doesn’t barge in and take over, but instead He waits for us to come to Him and ask for His wisdom and His help.

On DAY THIRTEEN we learned that God wants to establish us. That means He wants to bring our lives into order so everything falls right into place.

All of this can happen for you by putting our foundational scripture into practice. The word “practice” denotes that we repeat it over and over until it becomes second nature to us. My husband and I have been doing just that and after several months, we love the way our lives function. It brings us great joy and it will do the same for you. So here is the promise that will cause your life to prosper:

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; 

He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, 

and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

Proverbs 16:3 (AMPC)

God Wants To Establish Us

Day 13

On Day 12 we asked a lot of fairly serious questions. It might overwhelm us if we did not know that all of our days are written in a book (Psalms 139: 16 NIV) with our name on the cover. It resides on the bookshelf in God’s office. It stands to reason that we would check with heaven before we make our plans. In Proverbs 16: 3 AMPC it says that God wants us to be established in the plan He has for us.

You might say, “Don’t I get to choose my own plans?” Of course! We know that everyone has their own choices to make but when our plan aligns with God’s plan for us, then and only then are we guaranteed to be established and succeed. And that success is what we all want, right?

Just like a GPS, God is able to give us instructions so that we are able to get to our desired destination. He has an established order and that order brings us great peace—-if we follow it. The word “establish” means to bring about permanently; to establish an order. Have you ever had those times when everything just falls into place?? Maybe you can’t see your desired destination from where you are but you know you are headed in that direction. You are on the right track and it feels so good.

Here’s how it works:

Surrender your plans to God—commit all your worry and concern to Him.

Thank Him that He causes you to think like He thinks.

Praise Him that you are on your way to your destination.

Yes! Just like any parent, God likes to be acknowledged that He has blessed His children.

God Waits For Us To Ask

Day 12  

On Day 11 we learned that God has the plans for our life all worked out and they are very good plans (Ephesians 2:10 AMPC)—because He is good and good is what He does. (Psalms 119:68) 

Okay, so how do we access this “good plan” that He has for us? Let’s establish that He wants to show us what they are:

Jeremiah 33:3 He wants to show us great and mighty things.

Acts 2:28 AMPC God makes known to us the ways of life.

Matthew 7:7-8 Whoever asks, receives.

So should I go back to college and get my degree?….Should we take that trip this summer?….Should I get involved in that activity?

What should I do about our financial situation?…..What is the right thing to do in this situation?….What do I need for that Science project?

Who should I contact?….Where should I go?…..What should I say?

And the list goes on…..

How about if you take a few minutes and jot down a question that you would like to ask? Then turn to Proverbs 16:3 AMPC on your phone or one of your devices and pray….Father, I surrender my plans, my ideas, my intentions to You and I ask You to help me think like You think so I can be established and succeed. Then just relax and trust that He is going to show you the answer to Your question. It may happen in the grocery store, at work or in the shower tomorrow morning—and it will bring you great joy to know that Your Father loves for you to be successful!

I Came With An "Owner's Manual"

Day 11 

For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in Your book

    before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

Did you catch that? All your days were written in a book before you were born. God is your creator and your designer and in addition to that He planned out your days. The Bible says He writes all your plans in His book. Aren’t you glad that God has a daily planner for you?

Psalms 119:68 says that God is good and what He does is good. That means that each of our daily plans is a good plan. It stands to reason that if God has our plan, we should consult Him concerning them. Wouldn’t life be a lot easier?

Psalms 100:3   We belong to God.

Acts 17:26-27  He knows our times and the places that we should live.

Ephesians 2:10 God prepared those plans before we were born. 

Stay tuned for more on this……..

Your Future Is Bright

Day 10   

There are times in our lives where we are uncertain of what lies ahead for us. Maybe your career path is hidden and you can’t seem to find your way. Perhaps your company is struggling financially and you don’t know the answer. Or maybe you are just plain lonely and don’t know where to turn. We talked about using the simple things to explain God’s truth. In the last post, I talked about saving money on hand soaps. Today we are talking about saving a company from bankruptcy. The same principle applies.

Here is our prayer: (Based on Proverbs 16:3 AMPC)

Father, I commit all my ideas to You.

Please cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will

So that I can align with Your heavenly plan.

Thank You in advance for giving me Your ideas

so I can be established and succeed in this situation.

Now whatever you have to do to make sure your situation remains in His hands. I had what I call a one-liner that I used to say out loud every time I wanted to take something back on. I would just say out loud, “This is not my deal!!” Somehow those five words set me in a place of freedom where I knew that God was taking care of me and I didn’t need to help Him. All I had to do is be responsible for what I felt He was saying. 

No matter how difficult your situation is, you can keep it simple. Proverb 16:3 is the answer to a marriage that is in trouble or a company that is heading for bankruptcy, etc. It all boils down to thinking like God thinks so we can experience success.

I Corinthians 1:27 NLT  God uses the simple things to solve big problems.

Ephesians 2:10 AMPC    God has a blueprint for your daily life.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 NLT      God will show you which path to take.

God Is So Practical

Day 9   

Hi, everybody!!  [If you are new to my blog, I would encourage you to go to the Archives (from April) and click on “Developing A Successful Life.” I don’t want you to miss a single thing!]

I love talking about all the wonderful things that God has done for me. He is so creative and so fun and He loves to let us know that He is with us.

The other day my daughter invited me to run errands with her. I didn’t really have anything to shop for but I thought I could use some hand soap from Bath and Body Works. That’s it—nothing spectacular. My next thought was that if we go there, I should be two while I am there.

Stephanie picks me up and says, “I need to go to Bath and Body Works.”

Hmmmmm……….

We walk in the door and there is a big sign that says, “SALE—-Hand Soap—-2 for $12.00” (Instead of 2 for $20.00) I pick up my soaps and continue to browse around the store. I don’t see one other thing that is on sale—just my two soaps. 

You may think that God doesn’t care, but the Bible says He does. He doesn’t say, “I will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to My will, except for when you go shopping. You are on your own there!” He’s always with us and He is always willing to help us be successful.

How about purchasing a car? Do you think He cares? What about choosing a career or someone to marry? At what point does He say, “You are on your own?” He cares about every little thing and about every big thing in our lives. When God is teaching me one of His principles, He often uses very simple things to show me His truth. He used “two hand soaps” to show me the truth in Proverbs 16:3. Read it slowly and let it sink in!!

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.  Proverbs 16:3 AMPC

Selah.....stop and think about that!!

God Cares

DAY 8

Today we are going to talk about the practicality of God. Through my personal experience, I have found that He cares very much about our daily lives—-our concerns, our fears, our indecision, our needs——everything that concerns us. In Psalms 138:8 NKJV, He says He will make perfect that which concerns us. That excites me because He knows exactly what to do and He has the power to do it. All He needs is for us to do our part.

What is our part? Let's go to the Bible and see:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering….. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. Romans 12:1 MSG

This pretty much takes care of the “commit” and “trust” your plans to God in our foundational scripture for establishing success—-Proverbs 16:3 AMPC.

Let’s continue on in Romans 1:2…..

You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  Romans 12:1-2The Message (MSG)

How does God bring out the best in us? When we are in a surrendered state of mind, God is able to place His ideas, His plans, His affirmation and even His correction in our thoughts so that we align with what He wants for us. 

Jeremiah 29:11   God has a good plan for us.

Proverbs 16: 3 AMPC  He wants us to experience success.

III John 1:2  God is joyful when we are aligned with His truth.