Day 10 Your Future Is Bright

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. In the last post, I challenged you to pray along these lines: 

Father, I commit all my plans to You. (Or I offer my day 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.

Be intentional about doing whatever you need to do to make sure your situation remains in His hands. When I first started this, I formulated a one-liner that I said out loud every time I wanted to take something back on. I would say, “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.

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, or even a day that is unraveling. We’ve all had those! It all boils down to thinking like God thinks so we can experience success.

Proverbs 8:14 (TPT) The power of wisdom

Eph. 2:10 (AMPC)  God has a blueprint for your daily life

Prov. 3: 5-6 (NLT)       God will show you which path to take

My Pool Story

For the past nine "days" I have been showing you how to apply Proverbs 16:3 to your daily lives so that you experience success.  The Amplified Bible/Classic Edition says:

Proverbs 16:3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

3 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.

If we practice rolling our "works"--our plans for the day--upon the Lord, "He will cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will," so we can be established in order and thus be successful. No complications, do-overs, regrets, etc. Doesn't that sound nice?

This morning I was under the impression that the outdoor pool in my area was open. I proceeded to write a text to my grandkids to invite them to join us. Right before I was going to press the little arrow to send it off, I had a thought--"Maybe you should make sure the pool is open." I went online and sure enough in large caps it said, SATURDAY- CLOSED!

The Holy Spirit saved me and the kids a lot of confusion, disappointment, and time--not to mention my credibility!! I erased the text, regrouped my thoughts and now I am heading to my gym where the indoor pool is open 24/7!!

This is just a little example but day after day, as I commit my day (my week, our trip, my project) to the Lord, He causes me to put the details in order so I can be efficient. The Holy Spirit has free reign to delete any of my plans and also to add things in that I had not thought of. When I choose to partner with Him, all goes so well--and when it is all said and done, I am so grateful for His help.

Join me next time for "Day 10" on our 40 Days To A Successful Life! If you are new to this blog, you can begin with "Day 1" in the archives.

EnJOY!!

Karol

Day 9  Practice Makes Possible  

We are learning to commit our plans to God and asking Him to “cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will” so we can be established and successful. (Taken from Proverbs 16:3 AMPC) When we are learning something new, we have to routinely put it into practice until it becomes a habit. In the case of Proverbs 16:3, it’s learning a habit that will lead us to success in every aspect of our lives.

You may be a student, the CEO of a company, a doctor, a dad, an athlete…..and the list goes on. We are learning to surrender our plans to God no matter what we are doing. God wants us to be in tune with His perfect plan because He knows it will bring us peace and fulfillment. We do that by letting His thoughts have preeminence over ours.

You might say, “Are you talking about hearing from God, because I don’t think I can do that. It’s just too hard.” Actually, I am talking about inviting God into our day and asking for His guidance instead of doing it on our own. When we do that He is more than happy to plant His ideas in our thoughts. 

If this sounds intriguing to you, I would encourage you to put this simple prayer into practice—-not just once but several times a day for the next 7-10 days. When you pray this prayer, be purposeful about it expecting new thoughts to dawn on you.

“Father, I roll my plans upon You today. Cause my thoughts to align with Your will so I can be established and successful today.”

Take one day at a time and I promise you—you will be pleased!! Practice makes possible!

DAY 8   God Cares About Us  

Did you know that God cares very much about your daily life—-your concerns, your fears, your decisions, your needs——in fact everything that concerns you. In Psalms 138:8 NKJV, He says:

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;

Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)

That’s so good to know because if you are like me, some of the things I am concerned about might seem ridiculous to a friend, a family member or a co-worker. God’s attitude is “If it’s important to you—it’s important to Me.” Here’s our Father’s invitation to us:

Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, 

eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it 

before God as an offering….. fix your attention on God. 

Romans 12:1 MSG

Another of His invitations is:

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)

It’s you and God working together throughout your day. He cares about your grocery list, your time schedule, your date tonight and that flight to California next week. There is nothing too small or too big for God. Like any well-meaning father, God is all about us being successful in everything that we do. When we have a surrendered state of mind, God is able to place His ideas, His plans, His affirmation and yes—-even His correction in our thoughts. He loves nothing more than working with us so that our lives function well.

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

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

III John 1:4  AMPC  God is joyful when we are aligned with His truth.

Here's What We Have Learned So Far

DAY 7   Our Seven Day Recap  

Over the last six days, we talked about how to lay a foundation for developing a successful lifestyle. To experience success, we should train our minds to think successfully-- and then be willing to follow the pathway to achieve it.

On DAY ONE we learned that God wants us to think His thoughts so that we can make wise decisions. He will guide us if we let Him.

On DAY  TWO we learned that God wants our lives to function. He is willing to train us to use "good common sense." (Psalms 119:65-72 MSG)

On DAY THREE we learned how to submit our plans to God in order to receive His advice because He has the bigger picture.

On DAY FOUR we learned how to set up a meeting with God in order to partner with Him on a daily basis.

On DAY FIVE we learned that God wants to be very personal--as personal as we need Him to be.

On DAY SIX we learned how to turn to God in times when our feelings want to overtake us. In doing so we find an anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)

How about if we end these seven days by intentionally submitting our plans to God and asking Him to help us think His thoughts so we can experience the peace that He has for us? If you haven't established your time and place to meet with God, it's not too late. If you decide there is a better time and place, you can always make adjustments until you find something that functions for you. Once you find what works, consistency is the key.

Hi everybody!

I want to share an experience I had this week which I hope will give you a deeper understanding of our foundational scripture which says in part, ".....God will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will."  (Proverbs 16:3 AMPC)

On Monday David and I had to take care of some business that we were believing would go well for us. The appointment wasn't until 12:30 so we had all morning to wait. About 10:30 I said to him, "We need to pray specifically for our afternoon. We held hands and prayed, turning the appointment over to God and asking Him or orchestrate everything according to His plan. After we were done, I said to David that God was already at the place where we needed to go and He was lining everything up--administrating the staff and organizing everything.

When we arrived everything went like clockwork. It was one of those hurry up and wait kind of situations. We arrived early and they took us early. When does that ever happen?? Besides that, we had unusual favor. Several staff members made sure we had everything we needed. It was like we were the only ones in the world that they had to take care of. The rest of our Proverbs 16:3 scripture says that if we roll our works (our plans) upon the Lord, we will be "established" in peace. Instead of fretting and worrying and creating negative drama, we experienced God working on our behalf. We drove home with a smile on our face completely satisfied that God had gone before us and taken care of everything--in our favor.

If you haven't actually put Proverbs 16:3 into practice yet, I encourage you to try it. Pray it every day until and watch what happens. God is faithful to His promises!

Here you go:

Proverbs 16:3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

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.

God bless your day!

Day 6   An Anchor For The Soul   

Yesterday I shared a personal experience that took me from a time of sorrow to one of joy. One word from God will do that for you!! If you have had experience in hearing God’s voice, you will know what I mean. However, if this is something new for you, allow me to explain how to get started. 

Previously, I mentioned that it’s good to start with a devotional—either hard copy or a phone app. There are many available in each format. Find one that applies to the time of life that you are in. The more applicable it is the more meaningful it will be. Read the devotion for the day. Look up the scripture references in your Bible and if one is particularly meaningful to you, write it in your journal. There—-God has just spoken to you!! 

The Bible is the most foundational way that God uses to speak to us. His words are an anchor to our soul. You might even say it’s like receiving a reassuring hug from God. 

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things 

are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who 

have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the 

hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor 

for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

Hebrews 6:18-19 (NLT)

Hebrews 13: 5b (AMPC)  For God Himself said, I will not leave you without support.

2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17 (NKJV) God Himself will comfort your heart and establish you.

Psalms 112: 1 (TPT)  Cherish God’s words and be blessed beyond expectation.