The Ultimate Guide
Have you ever faced something unexpected? Maybe it was a good surprise that brought you joy, or a heartbreaking tragedy that deeply affected your life. All of us experience moments in life that we don’t anticipate.
Even though unexpected things will happen, we still make plans and dreams for our lives. We make plans for our future—education, family, community, career, or specific relationships. But we can never fully plan for the unexpected, since we cannot know the future. We don’t even know what might happen in the next few minutes.
We learn in Scripture that God is all-knowing, which means He knows everything that will happen everywhere in the world. He has complete knowledge of every event and action that happens. More than that, He is also sovereign, which means He has ultimate authority and control in this world.
That means that even though we make our own plans, God is ultimately the one who directs our steps. He has the power to change the direction of our lives, to orchestrate details we can't even fathom, and to guide us into what is best for us.
Take some time to think about the dreams and plans that you have for your life. Have you ever submitted those plans to God in prayer? This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make plans for your life, but rather, whatever you plan should not come before God’s plans for your life.
Take a moment to ask God to direct your steps. Ask Him to reveal any desires or plans that aren't from Him. Submit your plans to God so that you’ll be open to following Him wherever He leads.
Help is Near
We weren’t created to go through life carrying heavy burdens that weigh us down.
Thankfully, we don’t have to.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
When Jesus came to earth, He took our burdens onto Himself. Even though we were far from God, Jesus carried the punishment for our wrongdoing and bore our suffering. And because of that, we have a Savior who understands and has compassion on us.
This Savior meets us in our mess, and invites us to find rest in Him. This Savior is God with us.
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
Psalms 68:19 NIV
King David wrote that Psalm hundreds of years before Jesus’ arrival. But even then, God was illustrating to people that His character was constant, and He was trustworthy.
God ...