Commit and Trust

Day 3

Here’s our foundational scripture again: 

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

I administrated a Christian school for twelve years. I pretty much made my own plans but each week I would meet with my supervisor to have those plans approved. He had the bigger picture of which the school was just a part. I looked to him for his affirmation and/or correction. Sometimes we tweaked my plans and other times we added to or deleted parts of the plan. To me, it was a total freedom because I knew when we were done I had a plan that would lead to success.

God wants us to bring our plans to Him for His approval because He has "the bigger picture." Below are three additional promises that I believe will also bring you freedom. 

Psalms 73: 24  God guides me with His counsel.

Psalms 16:7 The Lord counsels me.

Isaiah 28:28 God is wonderful and His plan is magnificent.

Living Beyond Ourselves

DAY 2
Are there areas of your life that you need help with 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 because when it does, you will be empowered with all of God's best so that you have plenty to give away to others. Plenty of wisdom, plenty of understanding, plenty of strength......etc.

God desires to bless you so that you can be a blessing! 

Psalm 119:65-72 (MSG)  Be good to your servant, God; be as good as your Word. Train me in good common sense; I’m thoroughly committed to living your way. Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place, but now I’m in step with your Word. You are good, and the source of good; train me in your goodness…..I focus my attention on what you are saying…

Take the words from the above scripture and write your own personal prayer. Begin each day by praising Him for His goodness and positioning yourself to hear His instructions.

Developing A Successful Life

Day 1 

If you needed some 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. 

What if you could be that successful person?

The Bible says that if we ask God, He will cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will so that we can be established and succeed. (Proverbs 16:3 AMPC) Wouldn’t that be great? Not only will we flourish in our lives but we can be a blessing to others who are in need of godly advice. God helping people—so they can help people. Isn’t that what the Christian life is all about—-having an abundance of wisdom so that we can give it to those who need it?

James 1:5 (NIV)  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Psalm 73:23-24 (NIV)  Yet I am always with you; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward, You will take me into glory.

2 Corinthians 9:11-12  (AMPC)  Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way so that you can be generous…..

It’s not what you can get, but it’s what you have to give.

God's Drawing Board

I titled this post "God's Drawing Board." Let me explain what I mean. One day Dave and I were trying to make a decision where neither one of us knew what to do. I said, "Let's just put that on God's drawing board." That statement has now become an integral part of our Proverbs 16:3 life. 

As I am writing this, Dave and I have a major decision to make. We prayed our Proverbs 16:3 prayer and said, "We are putting this on Your drawing board, God." 

[NOTE: If you want a simple explanation of Proverbs 16:3, click on March 16th in the Archives.]

This morning we rolled our works (our plans) upon the Lord and asking Him to cause us to think like He thinks concerning this decision. We think we have an idea but we are not 100% sure that it is the right thing to do. 

We have found that if we put something on "God's Drawing Board," we can move ahead on it very slowly to see how things are going. If we run into roadblocks, we don't ram them down but instead we turn around and go back to the drawing board. A wrong decision could make our lives very stressful and we certainly do not want that. I'll let you know how it turns out. This afternoon we are going to move ahead on it very slowly.

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, 

says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace 

and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.  

Jeremiah 29:11  (AMPC)

For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), 

recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which 

God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which 

He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them

 [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].  

Ephesians 2:10 (AMPC)

“Peace” is a good thing! “Living the good life that God prearranged for us to live” is a wonderful thing!! Reader, I just want to say God bless your day!!

If you want to jump on board for our “Seven Day Challenge,” you are welcome! It will put you on the journey to a stress-free life that will bring you peace and joy. Click on March 16th and join us through the comments below.

My Own Private Life Coach

If you are new to my blog, I would suggest that you go to the archives and click on March 16, 2017. That will help you to understand what I am going to blog about today.

Our daily lives can so easily be filled with "overload" which leads to stress--which in turn can lead to frustration, anger and eventually blame. Would you like to know how to avoid all of that?

Again, my signature scripture is Proverbs 16:3:

"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."

I would encourage you to take these words and write out a prayer that you could pray each morning as you begin your day. Then when you see "overload" coming your way, you can stop and pray, "Father, cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will." 

It's not God's will for us to live a life of stress. If we give our day completely to Him and ask Him to help us organize it so that everything fits, then when all is said and done, we should have accomplished those things that are the most important. 

I have found that God loves to simplify the activities of my day so that I can accomplish more in a lot less time. He also loves to give me new ideas that I had never thought of before and even at times, He shows me that something I had planned was not even necessary to do at all. It's almost like I have my own private life coach.

The definition of life coach is "One who evaluates the obstacles and challenges in a person's life and chooses a course of action to make their life be what they want it to be."

How does that sound to you?? God wants to be your Life Coach. He's available to you day or night and His fees are zero. All that He is asking of you is for you to come to Him and trust Him that He knows what is best for you. It's the two of you walking out your day together!!

If you haven't started your "Seven Day Challenge" yet, you can begin anytime. I encourage you to post a comment and let us know how your day turned out when you rolled your plans upon Him and listened for His instructions.

Did you know that God is thinking about you all the time? You might wonder how that could possibly be. Below you will see five covenant promises. I encourage you to slowly read the words in caps out loud and allow God to minister these words to your heart…..personally.

FOR I KNOW THE THOUGHTS AND PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU,

says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and 

not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

Jeremiah 29:11Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

MANY, O LORD MY GOD, ARE the wonderful works 

which You have done, and YOUR THOUGHTS TOWARD US;

no one can compare with You! If I should declare 

and speak of them, they are too many to be numbered.

Psalm 40:5Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

[As for me] I am poor and needy, yet 

THE LORD TAKES THOUGHT AND PLANS FOR ME.

You are my Help and my Deliverer.

 Psalm 40:17Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

HOW PRECIOUS AND WEIGHTY ALSO ARE YOUR THOUGHTS TO ME,

O God! How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:17Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord,

 so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ 

[TO BE GUIDED BY HIS THOUGHTS and purposes].

1 Corinthians 2:16Amplified Bible (AMP)

Isn’t that amazing? God is thinking about us all the time. I wonder what He is thinking. Remember our foundational scripture from March 16th?

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)

I presented a “Seven Day Challenge” to you in my last blog post. I left two comments to give you an example as to how simple the challenge is. In His world, everything functions perfectly and in His world, there is great peace. If we commit our plans to Him and ask Him to help us think like He thinks, we too can experience that peace. Want to give it a try? Click on March 16 for simple instructions. Keep a log of your seven days and be sure to comment so we all can be encouraged. Remember that nothing is too small to talk about. 

One morning I offhandedly said to my husband, "Our bath towels don't seem to be as soft as they used to be."  A few minutes later I was walking through the living room where Dave had the t.v. on and I heard this: "If your bath towels are not as soft as they should be, you are probably using too much detergent." 

Wow! That was quick! It's a small thing but it got me to thinking about my previous blog post. (Scroll down for that!) I explained what I call my signature scripture--the one that burns in my heart!

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)

What if we could think the thoughts of God---all day---every day?? It has been my experience that God cares about every big or little thing that concerns us, and He waits until we ask for His help. 

How about if we try it together?? We could begin each day with--"God, I give You all of my plans today. Help me to think the way You think in every situation."

This simple prayer could be spoken (under your breath) in the grocery store, at the office, while driving the car---anywhere!

I would love for you to devote seven days to this spiritual experiment. Each morning commit your plans to God and ask Him to help you think the way He thinks. At the end of the day recall what happened during the day. Don't leave out even the simplest thing like "I remembered to pick up that can of tomato soup that I was going to use in my recipe tonight." 

We would love to hear your results so just scroll down and leave a comment. I encourage you to begin your seven days whenever you read this and if you miss a day, just keep going until you reach your seventh day. It will be so fun to hear back from you as you think your "God thoughts!!"

GPS (Directions from God's Word to help you get there)

Directions on the goodness of God:  (taken from the NIV)

Psalms 25: 12-13 

Isaiah 63:7 

Hebrews 6:5