Dear Ones,
Happy Weekend! We have our son Mark here and going to take him out today to celebrate his birthday which is Sunday. We had hoped to be in N.C for his birthday but had to postpone; we are going to head to Iowa tomorrow morning to visit a dear friend and to see our granddaughter play soccer on Sunday.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Do we have busy days but often feel like we are not accomplishing much? Maybe you are like me, and before I get out of bed, I let the things I want to get done during the day run through my mind. But then I have to add, “Lord, what are your plans for my day? May I be willing to do what is on your agenda, not mine!” Sometimes I do accomplish what I set out to do, but not always, as the Lord puts in other things that I had not even thought of. But if I choose to go my own way, it seems like everything gets fouled up.
On Wednesday both Al and I felt uncomfortable about our plan to go to N.C. as many of the roads are closed and gas is not always plentiful as a result of Hurricane Helene. We prayed about it and I e-mailed our daughter-in-law to tell her we were canceling our trip there even though we wanted to come. What was so neat is that she called about a minute later as she had just gotten off the phone with Mark and they also had the same impression that we should not go at this time. We are all disappointed, but I was also excited to know that we all heard the Lord and He made it clear.
It is good when we can hold our schedules loosely in our hands and be open to God’s plans. Sometimes I am absolutely amazed at all He fits everything into my day with perfect timing. We are on this earth such a short time, in light of eternity, and He lets us choose each day if we want to do our will or His. When we live His way, we have purpose and life has meaning. But going our own way we seem to pay the price, not necessarily immediately but ultimately. We can’t just go by our feelings, or we may never do the necessary things in our day, for they may not appeal to us. When we wake up, we don’t need to ask ourselves if we feel like making the bed or making breakfast for the family, we can just do it and then go on to other things.

But even when we will to go God’s way, we need His help to do it. Left on our own we may not follow through or we may quit before we accomplish what He has instructed us to do. As we choose to do His will, He gives us grace and desire to follow it. In Proverbs 16:9, it says, “A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.” Let us go God’s way and embrace His plans and find joy in His will.

Challenge for today: Choose to do God’s will and be quick to let go of your agenda for His.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy