IF THE LORD WILLS...Just An After Thought ????

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

Reveling in the praise and worship of my church's New Year's Eve service, I felt quite comfortable and for once fully awake as  I awaited the hours before the coming new year! 

Like many, I was anxious to put 2024 in my rear view mirror! Personal struggles and the aftermath of the hype and results of the 2024 Presidential election just took it all out of me emotionally!

I've never been one to make New Year resolutions (they always fell short of expectations) but I did plan to do some things totally different this year.  2025 was going to be my year to get serious about three things that had been pressing on my consciousness: my health, my heart attitudes, and my mortality.  Each would be critical to a strategy of resilience as I faced the rest of my life and what I perceived as my legacy. 

Then my Pastor mounted the pulpit, pulled this scripture from the book of James: "Why, you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:14-15 NIV)  And like a heat seeking missile of conviction, God dropped those last words in my heart...IF THE LORD WILLS!!!

How many times had I spoken them myself?  Sometimes arrogantly as a warning to somebody else but ashamedly, only as a tag line to my own selfish desires!  You see, I'd already sent out the invitations; paid the money; bought the dress, but just in case, to assuage any possible disappointments I better say...IF THE LORD WILLS!!! 

We do the same thing in our prayer life!  After obligatory confessions of sin; throwing in a praise here and there, to cushion the long list of our petitions we seek God's Personal Stamp of Approval!  How do we do that?  By adding this little phrase..IN JESUS' NAME! 

 Oh, Dear Ones, what the Lord has been teaching me about Himself and about Myself these seven days!   GOD'S WILL IS THE ONLY WILL THAT MATTERS!   Perhaps this little insight will help you get that message too!  I couldn't possibly cover all there is to say in this post. But here's a hint: YOU CAN FIND GOD'S WILL IN GOD'S WORD! Let's get to it!

• THE  LORD'S PERMISSIVE WILL: What God Allows or Permits!  Because He is Sovereign this can look and feel to us like a double edged sword - blessings and curses. And in many ways puzzling. Yet as His child each experience is covered in love. He controls it all.  "Nothing comes to you that has not passed first through His Nail-Scarred hands." CLICK HERE: Romans 8:28-29

• THE  LORD'S PRECEPTIVE WILL: What God Desires!  His revealed will to mankind is first found in His Word (Precepts).   CLICK HERE:Deuteronomy 29:29  Do you want to know who you are?  What is your purpose?  How to please Him? It is all in the Word of God and we can faithfully follow it because "The will  of God will never take you where the grace of God cannot keep you."

• THE LORD'S PROVIDENTIAL WILL: What God Overrules to Accomplish His Purposes! One thing we can be assured of even in these uncertain times is that God can overrule evil. In fact, He's already done it! (We just haven't seen it manifested to our liking yet.)  In the Garden of Eden, Satan plotted to block the salvation of sinful mankind! He thought he had the power, the knowledge, and the army to do it.  BUT JESUS foiled all his plans! CLICK HERE: Genesis 3:15  Our salvation was sealed shortly after sin came into the world and this only because God willed it so.  "HE" decided to give us another chance!  So go ahead, set some goals, make a plan, write it down, work at it,  but take heed...

IN YOUR PLANNING - REMEMBER THIS!

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, 

and He will establish your plans.

(Proverbs 16:3)

     

 UNTIL NEXT TIME...IF THE LORD WILLS!!!!😊

If you would like to leave a comment please send an email to: sisters4sisters@att.net OR  scroll to the bottom of my blog page at  http://alittlewiser63.blogspot.com  click on the pencil and the no comments will change to a writing space.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

If you would like to leave a comment please send an email to: sisters4sisters@att.net OR  scroll to the bottom of my blog page at  http://alittlewiser63.blogspot.com  click on the pencil and the no comments will change to a writing space.