07/05/2023
Do we include the Lord in all of our plans? Do we consider him in the minutest details of our lives? Is He not only our God in the grand plans of life, but the friend who walks beside us throughout the day, and sits with us in the evenings to talk over the smallest details that have transpired? This is my contemplation today, and I invite you to make it yours.
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
Psalms 37:5 ESV
Opening up our lives to God sounds like an easy thing to do, but if it is so easy then why do we walk alone through so much of our day? We consult Him on the big things, but we tend to walk alone through all those trivial tasks and goings-on of our day. This is dangerous to us and to our faith, and as I read my devotional this morning, Oswald Chambers touched on this very thought when he wrote these words...
"In our religion it is customary to put God first, but we are apt to think it is an impertinence to put Him first in practical issues of our lives. If we imagine we have to put on our Sunday moods before we come near to God, we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are." - Oswald Chambers
I have mentioned before that I speak aloud with God and Jesus all through my day, and that people around me are probably thinking I am talking to myself, but as I think back on yesterday, I realize that there were many times when I worked, relaxed, or even Day dreamed alone. In those moments I made decisions and plans without conscious thought to what God would advise me to do. I had separated myself from Him, regardless of how briefly, and these are dangerous moments and so are the decisions we make in them.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8
Sometimes when I come into contact with friends I had before my life was truly dedicated to God, I get wrapped up in a conversation or activity and my old self will reassert itself. Later, I will look back on that time with some regret... the inappropriate language, or perhaps thoughts, and how they made me feel; I realize that during that period of time, I had withdrawn from my conversation with God. I had forsaken my closest friend to spend time with another, an old friend who took me back to a place I thought I had conquered, and that I had put on the clothing of a past day.
Has this happened to you? Have you been at a reunion of some sort and found yourself suddenly talking, reminiscing, and acting like you did long ago? Well, these are the occasions when we stop allowing God into the most intimate and detailed plans of our lives. This is when we drop our guard by taking back the full control of our thoughts and decisions... this is when we inadvertently exclude Him.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
The minutia of life... it seems so innocent, and yet, it can be the undoing of our faith. As the Psalmist said, we must commit ourselves to the Lord... always and in all things. He will keep our most intimate thoughts, help us control our emotions, our actions, and influence the most obscure and trite of our plans. Just as He leads us in the greater things, He will also guide that first small step that we were about to take in error... after all, every large mistake in the course of our lives begins with a single small step in the wrong direction.
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8 ESV
So, we must endeavor to walk always at all times with the Lord, and to include Him in all of our plans and considerations... the large and the small. He is our compass, and Jesus our course correction, and the light that illuminates our steps. When either is withdrawn, or neglected, we stumble, and our lives of faith are imperiled. Trust God always, and in all things.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your good council in all that I do, and in every plan I consider; both the great and small. Thank you Father for being present with me and whispering in my ear when I am making even the most insignificant of decisions. Your voice comforts me because I know that in it there is love, wisdom, and good. You guide my steps and walk beside me. As I talk with you I am comforted; when I walk with you I do not stray, and when I feel your hand I am lifted up. My day is made perfect by your very presence, and your steps guide mine in all I do. My night is spent in comfort because I know you watch over me, and guard my dreams. Keep me Holy Father, and know that I strive to follow after your Son Jesus... listening to you as He did, walking your way as He walked, and obeying your will as He obeyed. Strengthen me Father that I might be a pleasure to you in all I do this day.
Rich Forbes