His Plan or Ours?

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Thursday, April 7, 2016

LUKE 9:18-36

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, " Who do the crowds say I am?" They replied, " Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." " But what about you?" he asked. Peter answered, " God's Messiah." Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, " The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Then he said to the all: " Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory of the Father and of the holy angels. " Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, " Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put three shelters- one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." ( He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice camf=e from the cloud, saying, " This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.

1 CHRONICLES 17:1-20

After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, " Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent." Nathan replied to David, " Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you." But that night the word of God came to Nathan, saying: " Go and tell my servant David,  ' This is what the Lord says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another. Whenever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, " Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" ' " Now then, tell my servant David, ' This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. " ' I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.'" Nathan reported all the words of this entire revelation. Then king David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: " Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men. " What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises. " There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel-the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?

His Plans or Ours?

When my husband was 18 years old, he started a car cleaning business. He rented a garage, hired helpers, and created advertising brochures. The business prospered. His intention was to sell it and use the proceeds to pay for college, so he was thrilled when a buyer expressed interest. After some negotiations, it seemed that the transaction would happen. But at the last minute, the deal collapsed. It wouldn't be until several months later that his plan to sell the business would succeed.
    It's normal to be disappointed when God's timing and design for our lives do not match our expectations. When David wanted to build the Lord's temple, he had the right motives, the leadership ability, and the resources. Yet God said he could not undertake the project because he had killed too many people in battle.
    David could have shaken his fist at the sky in anger. He could have pouted or plowed ahead with his own plans. But he humbly said, " Who am I, Lord God... that you have brought me this far.? David went on to praise God and affirm his devotion to Him. He valued his relationship with God more than his ambition.
    What is more important-achieving our hopes and dreams, or our love for God?
    Dear heavenly Father, I commit all of my plans to You. Thank You for bringing me this far. You mean more to me than anything in the world.
     True satisfaction is found in yielding ourselves to the will of God.
Please also read 1 SAMUEL 7-9