♕ Today’s Promise: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." E3:20
Ahhh my dears, how good it was to reread this life lesson “Fall Short” today... Our Beloved is incredible and chose exactly today to show me once again that His plans are perfect and much better than mine!
The last few days that correspond to the end of last year and the beginning of this new year bring many thoughts and issues that resurface, putting our trust and obedience to the Lord to the test!
I experienced this feeling when a few days ago I had the opportunity to fulfill an old dream. In that first moment when I received that news I was simply over the moon, I was incredibly happy, however, after that initial moment passed I began to reflect and wonder if that was really the Lord's plan for me. Along with the reflection also came the desire to pray that, if it was on the Lord's part to fulfill that dream, that everything would happen in the best way.
And so it was, I spent a few days praying and asking my Beloved for confirmation or not.
One thing I learned, my dears, was that doing something without the Lord's blessing will never produce lasting happiness in us. So, when I remembered several past experiences, I simply changed the way I prayed and began to pray that if that was the Lord's plan for me, amen, and if not, I was ready to accept His will for me!
I continued praying for wisdom, discernment and confirmation from the Lord about this project, and a few days later the Lord revealed that it was not the time yet, I should wait!
I felt so relieved and happy!! Yes, I was happy, incredible, right? The "old" me would not have reacted this way. I would probably have been upset and sad or, in the worst case scenario, I would have insisted and everything would have gone wrong. By the way, as we say here in Minas Gerais, I had "the knife and the cheese" in my hands; I just had to say yes and everything could begin.
But my Beloved, through His goodness and mercy, helped me and gave me the strength to resist myself.
My dears, I confess that there have been countless times when I have failed because I did not seek the Lord before doing something or seek confirmation about whether that was the path He wanted me to follow.
Even if our plans seem perfect, they are not, somewhere we fail, something goes wrong, and then we suffer the consequences of our own actions.
That is why I must never forget that His will for us is good, perfect, and pleasing!!
What I ask Him today is that He help me never forget who He is, and who I am!
May His greatness and perfection always be alive in my mind and in my heart, and that through the strength and wisdom that the Lord Himself gives me, I may say no to my own plans and yes to His!
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." J29:11
Thank you, my dear Marta, for this beautiful tribute… I have made countless plans for the future, but I know that my own plans are in vain. If I rely on them and stubbornly push forward in my own illusions, I will end up regretting it, and it will only lead to sadness and discouragement.
Today, I rest in Him. Whenever I have something on my mind, I run to Him and share it. No matter what my Beloved’s answer is, may His will be done and not mine.
Just yesterday, I was thinking about all those failures, all the time wasted chasing after meaningless things, when all I needed was to trust Him and surrender everything into His hands. Today, I understand that every moment with Him is a treasure, that His plan is perfect, and that even my past failures have served to draw me closer to Him. 💛✨
It’s true, dear Kateleen, we know that His plans are the best possible, and that with Him by our side, everything will be fine.
May we continue to trust in our Beloved every day of our lives, and so we thank Him for the best that He has prepared for us, always!!!
It is so wonderful to be able to rest in His loving arms…
Thank you for sharing precious Marta. There had been so many countless time that I have failed because also did not seek the Lord before doing something. I also have to confess that I was always scared to ask our Beloved Lord for His will, but now I know with my whole heart He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us and that He is trustworthy, so I can ask for His will.
Oh dear Janinie, you said something that I have always had, fear that the Lord’s will was not the same as mine. I failed so much in thinking that my will should be superior to His, because the world preaches this, that we should follow our instincts/heart…but it is so good to know that He had mercy on me and showed me that “His plans are bigger and better than mine” always.
Dear Marta, thank you for sharing this testimony. I recognize so much of what you write. All I want is His plan for my life and not to make my own choices. It remains important that We ask Him for everything. It is so wonderful when we receive an answer.
Dear Hanna, while reading your comment I was reminded of this powerful principle (https://encouragingwomen.org/htbb-2/) that helps us renew our minds to “not get in His way” and not get in the way of His plan for us and in us!
Thank you for being here, my dear.
Thank you for sharing. It’s absolutely true that we often get caught up in our own desires and forget to seek the Lord’s will. I’ve also been trying to be more mindful and ask Him if my desires align with His will. I’m learning to surrender my plans to Him and ask for His guidance in every situation. It’s so freeing to just trust in Him even though we sometimes make it more difficult than it should be,
Oh dear Hope, sometimes we are stubborn when we see that things are not being done as we would like… but how beautiful it is to see Him acting in our situations… each day He shows us more and more how much we depend on Him in everything we do, and that He always has good plans to bless us. May we be encouraged to take everything to Him, because as His Word tells us: “to obey is better than to sacrifice.” I remembered this lesson that helps us reflect and let Him guide us:https://loveatlast.org/living-lessons/week-64-worst-times-are-the-best/