His Plans Or Yours?

“His Plans or Yours?”

By Zach Wood

Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

If there’s one thing we are all extremely good at, it’s coming up with great ideas of how to spend our time doing things.  Whether it is at work, at home or out and about with family or friends, we have no problems coming up with great things to do.  We like to get creative and come up with some crazy ways to spend our time.  We can have some real fun and adventure with different ideas while around our family and friends.

If there’s one thing we are all extremely bad about, it’s taking a step back before we make certain decisions and allowing God to lead us.  In this day and age, we have become so programmed to do what we want, when we want and how we want. So often we claim that we want the Lord to be in control of our lives and we say that He is in control.  But, if we’re really honest, so much of the time He is not in the driver’s seat and is not really guiding us because we apparently have things under control.

Does this sound like any of your lives??  I’m sure it does if you really stop think about it.  And, it describes mine as well.  I am so guilty of going about my day and failing to stop and really ask myself if I’m letting God be in control at all.  I may think He is, but really I am just asking Him to sprinkle some “blessings” as I go about MY plans for the day.

This is a very wise proverb.  We would be wise to take heed of this statement and be encouraged.  Friends, we must let God be in control of our lives.  We have so many plans in our hearts that we think will prevail, but in the end, they just lead to more confusion and more pain.

God has plans for our lives that we are completely unaware of.  How often do we truly surrender and just let Him lead?  How often do we completely allow Him to take the throne of our heart and just be God?  Many times what happens is we do ask Him to be in control and we let Him…..until He starts doing things we don’t agree with or that don’t seem to make sense.  Then, we push Him aside and push full-throttle with our plans instead.  In a sense we are saying, “Okay God, You did pretty good, but now I’ll take it from here!  I can handle this from here.”

When will we just let God be God and lead our lives?  When will we truly let His purpose prevail?  Isn’t it time we really let Him lead?

Seek To Be Humble

“Seek To Be Humble”

By Zach Wood

1 Peter 5:6 NIV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

We all know there is a time and a place for everything.  There is a time to laugh and a time to cry.  There is a time to give advice and a time to just listen.  We could pick many different scenarios about when it’s a proper time to do this or do that.  Also a time when we should say this or say that. 

Throughout my years of life, I have regretted many times when I chose to focus on my needs and not the needs of others.  It’s not that my needs aren’t important, but Christ calls me to seek out the needs and concerns of others so that I can focus on them and reach out to them in their times of need. 

There have been times when I have been too proud of something I’ve done and have needed to be put in my place so that I scale down my attitude of pride.  It’s so hard many times to be humble.  So often I just feel the desire to think more of myself than I ought to and God reminds me of who I really am.  I am nothing without Him. 

There are so many times in our lives as Christians that we want to be recognized and rewarded for things we have done.  Not one of us would say we don’t desire to be noticed and appreciated for great things we have done.  However, we often want to be rewarded often for what we do and we would have to admit that we often also look for opportunities to do something for someone just to get recognized.

Friends, we must be humble.  Why?  Because Christ was humble and He calls us to the same life.  If we humble ourselves before God and allow Him to reward us when the time is right, He will.  He will reward us in a way or ways we’ve never dreamed possible.  However, we must submit ourselves to Him and release our pride and moments of selfish desires so that He can use us. 

We absolutely must be humble.  I am reminded of this song I sang all my years of growing up and into adulthood, “Humbly thyself in the sight of the Lord.  And He will lift you up.  Higher and higher and He will lift you up.”

Are we seeking to be humble so that God can lift us up in His time? 

Always There For Us

“Always There For Us”

By Zach Wood

Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

I am thankful that I have had so many people in my life, from the time I was a child until now, that I could look up to and rely on for support and love.  Whether it is a family member, a good friend, a mentor, or a teacher, I have always had people who would look out for me and help me along the way.  I am thankful for the caring people that God has put in my life to give advice and gently nudge me to help me make good decisions.

It is always a great feeling when we know people are there for us, loving and caring, helping us along the way when life is tough.  It feels great to know people love and want to help support us.  However, these people are human and they will let us down from time to time.  It isn’t that they don’t really care, but they are human and sometimes they just don’t say the right things or do the right things.  We end up getting hurt sometimes by people we really love and care about. 

While it is absolutely wonderful to have others whom we can turn to and rely on for support and strength, we must never forget Whom we can completely rely on every moment of every day and Whom will never let us down or break a promise.  He is always available when others are not.  He is always right there to hear us when we need to vent our frustrations.  He is always waiting to hold us when we are hurting.

As we enter this New Year, let us be reminded that our Savior, Jesus Christ, is always available for us and is there to guide and strengthen us when we need it most.  We can confidently approach God and know that He will never be too busy to hear us or sympathize with us.  In our greatest times of need, He is always ready and willing to walk with us and comfort us.  No matter what, He is always there. 

He is able, more than able, to sympathize with anything we are going through.  

Create & Restore

“Create & Restore”

By Zach Wood

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”

As we come close to the end of another year, many thoughts are going through people’s minds.  These thoughts can be anything from complete joy to complete sorrow.  The end of the year brings many thoughts about what our lives have been and what can be as we look to begin a new year.

Sometimes we really mess up during the year, but there are also times when we haven’t messed up, but bad things have ended up happening to us for one reason or another.  This can really make us angry and distraught in so many ways.  Maybe this year has been a really tough year for you with family or friends having a very difficult time.  Maybe it’s been a tough year with your job.  Maybe it’s been a tough year with some family situations you’d dealt with in your home.

There are endless scenarios we could bring up that can make a challenging year.  At the end of the year, we tend to be in two different worlds, so to speak.  We often dwell on the past year and the many things that we have done or said or that have happened to us.  Then we also think of the New Year and all that we want to accomplish or try new.

Whatever your thoughts are at this time, there are seasons of sorrow and seasons of joy.  Every human being experiences this.  David is no exception.  This is one of my favorite passages in Psalm.  David became a man after God’s heart.  He messed up big time and caused much grief, not only to himself, but also to others.  He had a lot of pain as he thought about the past and then looked to the future.

We all need to ask God to create in us a pure heart for various reasons.  We have thought and said bad things that we need to repent of.  We also need God to restore to us the joy of His salvation and the life He has given us.  He wants to create and restore in us a joy that only He can bring. 

Whatever you might be thinking about as you end this year and begin a new one, why not ask God this very day, and every day to create within you a sincere desire to have a pure heart and a restored life through Him?  He is so willing if you are willing to open up and let Him.  

He Understands

“He Understands”

By Zach Wood

John 1:14 (NLT)

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year.  Things are so festive and alive with different colors no matter where you go.  The feeling of Christmas and festivities is all around and people seem to have a different kind of spirit.  This is also one of my favorite times of the year because we talk about and focus on the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  He was born into this world and had a mission unlike any other mission anyone has ever had before.

The stories we hear each year about the birth of Jesus are wonderful to remember and cherish.  But I want to take this a bit further than just celebrating His birth. Not only was the Kind of Kings and Lord of Lords born into this imperfect world, He also lived a sinless life and went on a mission to make sure that we knew He loved us.

I am not only thankful for the time we spend focusing on celebrating His birth, but I’m also so thankful to know that we have a Savior Who came to this earth and lived among us. He lived among us filthy people and connected with those who truly needed Him. He came for the sick and for those who were completely lost.  He reached out to people who were outcasts.  He loved the unlovable.  He opened His life to connecting to those whom most of us probably would never consider coming close to.

The one thing I am so thankful for is that not only did He come to rescue us from our sin, but also He knows and understands everything we go through.  He knows the hurts we have.  He knows the pain we endure in every situation and circumstance that is hard.  He knows how we are feeling even when we can’t seem to really explain to anyone else.  He knows what we are truly feeling even when we can’t express it to Him.  He understands and knows all that we feel and all that we go through.

This time of year is hard for many people. A lot of people dread this time of year because of bad memories for one reason or another.  If you are one of those people who hurt this time of year and you don’t know who to reach out to, remember that Jesus, and only Jesus, truly knows your heart and your hurt more than anyone. He totally understands when no one else does.  He came to live among us and reach out to those who were hurting.

Reach out to Him.  He understands and loves you and wants to hold you.

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed

“Thankful, Grateful, Blessed”

By Zach Wood

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

A couple of weeks ago, as we were on the road driving to church, I noticed a sign on the side of the road that drew my attention which read, “Thankful, Grateful, Blessed”.  As the drive continued, I thought about those words and how they should apply to every day living.

First, we are blessed.  This is something that has been done for us.  We are blessed in so many ways.  When we receiving a blessing, whatever the gift may be, that’s what it is, a gift.  We receive blessings in so many different ways and forms.  Blessings can come in very little ways or very big ways.  However, whether big or small, they are from God.  God loves to bless us and provide for us.  The face that we are blessed has nothing to do with what we’ve done, but with what’s been done for us and to us. 

Second and third, what is our reaction to the different ways we have been blessed? Are we indeed thankful and grateful for all that we have received?  We have already been blessed, but being thankful and grateful are sole choices we make in response to what we’ve been given.  We have the individual choice of whether or not to show thankfulness and gratefulness whatever the circumstances we face in life.

I think we would all agree that it’s so easy to be thankful and grateful when we receive nice gifts and when life is treating us well.  However, when life hands us a basket or truckload of lemons, how often are we grateful and thankful despite those hard times?  Do we push through, as Paul points us, and continue to be thankful and grateful?  I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we aren’t always grateful and thankful as we should be.  We all have a lot of room to grow here.

We all “know” that we should be thankful and grateful for all that we’ve been given, no matter what circumstances and situations that surround us each day, but actually living that out can be really tough.  Paul learned to be thankful and grateful because he knew he was very blessed over and above anything he deserved.  He rejoiced in the blessings in his life, even when things were tough.

I encourage all of us, not only at this time of Thanksgiving Holiday, but each and every day, to remember that we are truly blessed by God in so many ways.  Are we going to be sincere in our thankfulness and gratefulness, no matter what?

BIG or little God?

“BIG or little God?”

By Zach Wood

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

If someone were to ask you, “Do you serve a big God?”, your answer would most likely be “Yes!”.  How many of us would even think of or even consider saying that we don’t?  You ask any Christian leader or minister in a church and they would quickly tell you that they do serve a very big God!  To answer any other way would be absurd. 

We talk so often in the church about how we serve a big God and how powerful He is.  We talk often about the amazing things He has done in our lives and how He continues to work is mysterious ways.  We have Bible study groups and sermons given on how incredible big our God is.  It is absolutely wonderful to share how big God is, but don’t you think we should also be living our lives in a way that shows we believe?

For so long, we have talked this up so much in the church about an amazing and big God that works in unbelievable ways, but so often the way we live our lives doesn’t tell that story to others.  We feel good talking about how wonderful He is and make Him sound really great, but then as we live our lives many days, we really don’t show others we truly have that faith in a big God. 

Paul definitely believed in a big God!  He served a God that was infinitely more powerful than anything he could ever imagine.  Paul not only shared about his big God, but he also lived believing this and living it!  How many of us actually live this belief out each and every day?  How many of us not only talk about how immeasurably great God is, but also live that faith out? 

If we’re honest with ourselves and with others, I think we’d have to say that we do a lot more “talk” than actually living that belief out. We cannot only talk about it, but we must live in a way that convinces others that we serve a big God as well. 

So, do you serve a BIG God or a little God?  Do you make Him little in your everyday life or BIG in the way you live so that others can see His amazing ways?