Day 5   Hearing God’s Voice 

Please allow me to give you an example of hearing from God in a personal way. Our family had gone through a year or more of sadness over an event that happened of which we had no control. The result left us all in great sorrow. I was so very glad to have had about twenty years of daily “meetings with God” at this point because I knew to Whom I could turn.

One morning I was particularly sad. I turned to Jeremiah because I remembered that I had found peace there several times before. That particular day I read the following scripture:

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion and shall flow together 

and be radiant with joy over the goodness of the Lord….And their life shall 

be like a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow or languish anymore at all.”  Jeremiah 31:12 (AMPC)

My heart was so touched by these words. It was like they were personally written for me. I wrote them in my journal and even posted it on the bathroom mirror. I spoke them out loud during my prayer time and sang them out loud in praise to God. I did not want to lose sight of what God was personally saying to me. These were the words that would change the trajectory from sorrow to “radiant with joy.” These were life-changing words to me. 

Never forget—God will be to you as personal as you want Him to be!!

I Corinthians 1: 3 (AMPC)  God gives us the grace to experience His heart peace.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) God’s promises are “Yes” and we agree by saying “Amen.”

Isaiah 35: 1-2 (AMPC) Our “desert”  blossoms abundantly and rejoices with joy.
                                                       

Hi everybody!

It is my hope that you are catching the meaning of our foundational scripture--Proverbs 16:3 AMPC. We are submitting our plans to God and asking Him to cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will so that we can be established in peace and be successful. Success leads to satisfaction and the opposite of running into road blocks all day long. That only leads to frustration.

Let's continue with Day 4:

Day 4   Meeting With God 

When God knows you want to spend time with Him, He will take notice and make sure He spends time with you. Many years ago I set my clock for a certain time of the day that was allocated just for Him. I also designed a comfortable place where I could keep a basket filled with everything I would need to learn from Him—my Bible, a journal, my tablet, and a daily devotional. Everything was easily accessible for my meeting with God. And oh yes, did I mention that a cup of coffee was a necessity—especially if you do that early morning thing!

I began by praying “Father, I commit this time to You. Cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will.” (Taken from Proverbs 16:3 AMPC) I then would read my daily devotional and write down on my journal page what I had learned from a particular scripture. The heading on my journal page was—and still is—-“What Do You Want Me To Know Today, God?” I soon realized how much I enjoyed these times and how much peace I experienced because of them. Through these "meetings with God" I was teaching myself to hear how God speaks through His written word. 

If you haven't already developed consistent times with God, I challenge you to begin today. Find your time and place, gather your materials and expect God to meet you every day. I promise that you will be amazed!!

2 Timothy 2:15 (AMPC)   Do your utmost to present yourself to God.

Psalms 119: 127 (AMPC)   I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil.

Isaiah 26:3 (AMPC)   God will keep me in peace as I fix my mind on Him.

Day 3  Commit and Trust   

Here’s our foundational scripture from Day 1: 

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 16:3Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

Let’s picture for a minute how things operate in the business world. There’s the CEO and under that position are the Department Heads. Each Department Head has a team of marketing people to promote the company’s products. The CEO assigns the Department Head to come up with a marketing campaign for a certain product line. He or she brainstorms with the team until they reach what they think is a successful plan. When all the details are complete, the Department Head shows it to the CEO for final approval. The CEO says one of three things—

This plan isn’t going to work. 

This is a good plan but let’s tweak a few things to make it better.

This is a great plan—let’s go with it.

You can easily apply this process to your unique, daily life no matter what you are doing. It works for the stay-at-home parent as well as for a person in a high governmental office.  Each person submits their plan for approval by praying, “Father, I roll the plan I have upon You. I commit and trust it completely to you. Please cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will so that I can be established and succeed today.”

Isaiah 28:29 (NIV)  God is wonderful and His plans are magnificent. 

Psalms 73: 24 (NIV)  God guides me with His counsel.

Psalms 16:7 (NIV) It’s the Lord who guides me. Even at night, my heart instructs me.

A Testimony of Proverbs 16:3

Before I give you "Day 2" I have to tell you what happened last night. Our grandson and his girlfriend drove about two hours to spend some time with us. As they entered our subdivision, Jagger's battery light came on. My husband suggested that it might be the alternator. Dollar signs were beginning to invade our thinking. We sat down and began talking about what else it could be, how they were going to safely get home, etc. Finally, with all of these thoughts floating around I said, "Let's pray." I proceeded to roll the care of this upon the Lord and I asked Him to cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will so we could be established in peace and be successful.

An idea popped into my thoughts that our son-in-law knew of a mechanic that had done some work for him. The mechanic lived 10 minutes from us and was willing to take a look at it. He did not have his equipment at home to check the alternator so he sent us to O"Reilly's Car Parts. It was the alternator. Next puzzle piece, please!! They had one in stock (which is not always the case). The price was a lot less than we thought and son-in-law's mechanic was willing to put it in at 9:00 p.m. By 9:30 they were on their way home in a safe care with the repairs completed.

From 5:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m. it was like dominoes falling one right after the other. They were falling in our favor and for the good of these kids. Rather than worry, fretting and confusion we had God's wisdom, His peace, His orchestration, and His favor!! That is why Dave and I begin each day by praying the simple prayer that I gave you yesterday. Again, I challenge you to take the next 40 days and keep a journal of how God causes you to think like He thinks. By the way, I'd love to hear from on what happens when you pray Proverbs 16:3.

Now onto Day 2:

Day 2  Living Beyond Ourselves  

Are there areas of your life that you need help in order to be successful? Could you use more wisdom, more understanding, more strength, more finances, stronger relationships, a better marriage? The good news is that God wants to supply all of these—and more. He wants your life to function well because when it does, you become a testimony of His goodness and His greatness. 

Sometimes we fail to recognize how good God really is. He desires for us to have plenty so we will be enriched and able to give to others. Plenty of wisdom, plenty of understanding, plenty of strength, plenty of joy—and the list goes on and on.

When we purpose to spend time with God at the beginning of the day, He is willing to meet with us. We can ask Him questions and receive His directions so we can live out each day with Him.  All of His resources (wisdom, understanding, strength, joy, etc.) are ready and waiting for us. These provisions are set aside for His kids because He loves us so much. Let this be your prayer today:

You have done many good things for me, Lord,

    just as you promised.

I believe in your commands;

    now teach me good judgment and knowledge.

I used to wander off until you disciplined me;

    but now I closely follow your word.

You are good and do only good;

    teach me your decrees.

Psalm 119:65-68 (NLT)

Philippians 4:19 (NLT)  God promises to meet all of your needs.

Psalms 119: 65-72 (MSG)  God is good and the source of all good.

II Corinthians 9:8 (NLT)  God wants you to have plenty left over to share with others. 

You Really Can Get There!

I have entitled my blog "You Can Get There From Here" because I figure that we are all trying to get somewhere. It might be that you just want to get through the day or maybe you want to discover your career path or maybe it's your goal to reach a place of peace.

If you have followed me on this blog, you know that I love to share the Word of God so that it can come alive in your life. I am especially passionate about this word:

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 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

This is a tried and true promise. I have applied it to my life for close to ten years and it has shaped my days into peace and satisfaction, and I love nothing more than to see that happen for other people!

I am using the Amplified Bible because it amplifies the meaning of the words using the Greek and Hebrew dictionary. In other words, it saves me a lot of time to have the meaning incorporated right into the verse.

The phrase that jumped out at me years ago is, "He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will." Really?? It dawned on me one day that if that were true, I could possibly be more successful than trying to figure things out on my own. 

I have written a 40 Day devotional to help people gain an understanding of the power in this promise. You are invited to join me each day (Monday-Friday). I saved the weekend so that you could spend a little more time applying what you have learned during the week. You may want to get yourself a journal or notebook and write out your prayer of commitment and then jot down something that happened during your day that was a direct result of what you prayed. Here is a simple prayer of commitment that you might like to begin with:

Father, I commit my plans to You. Please cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will so that I can align with Your perfect will. Thank You in advance for establishing me in Your ideas so that I can be successful today.

You might even prayer this prayer several times during your day so that you can stay focused and receive the new ideas that you know are from Him. Keep in mind that He wants you to be successful just like any well-meaning Father. 

Here you go---

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Day 1          Developing A Successful Lifestyle 

If you need advice, would you ask a successful person or the person who is confused and struggling? Of course, you would ask someone who is experiencing success.

Very simply, here is what the Bible says:

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 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

Just imagine—thinking the thoughts of God so that we can be established in His perfect will and lead a successful life. God created everyone and everything perfectly and He knows how each one of us should function in His perfect plan. As we surrender our plans to Him Who knows all, we will be given the keys in order to live a successful life.

I challenge you today to take the next 40 Days and commit to praying this scripture over your day. I also encourage you to keep a journal, listing the times during your day that you just knew God was directing you and remember no detail is too insignificant to list.

I promise you that if you are consistent in rolling your plans for the day—-upon the Lord, you will begin to live out your day with His direction. He will give you new ideas and new ways of doing things. In addition to that, He’ll save you from those things that rob you of time, money and strength. Are you up for the challenge?

James 1:5 (NLT)  God says that He will gladly share His wisdom with us.

Psalms 25: 4-5 (NLT) Ask God for Him to show you His ways for you to take.

Psalm 73:23-24 (NLT)  God wants us to ask for His counsel.