God is a BIG PICTURE kind of leader

As I have grown older, time seems to pass faster - except when you are waiting for the day to come when you can load up the car and just head for your fishing hole! The "ebbing" of a new day seems to be upon me before I even realize that the old one has passed me by! There is one truth that endures through the passage of time - - God's Word is dependable, even when I am not! For some, this goes without saying because they have adopted the Word of God as a standard by which they live their lives. They have tested it and found it to be "a sure thing". There is another truth that I think we might miss on occasion, but it is equally as important - - everything serves God's plans, especially you and I!

What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens. Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up. Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that's what you ordered—you set the earth going. (Psalm 119:89-91)

As much as we can count on the "permanence" of God and what he says, we can count that nothing (absolutely nothing) escapes his purposes and plans for and within our lives. This should give us hope that the events of yesterday prepared us for something we will face today and the occurrences of today will prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow. Sometimes we think events are "random", or that they could not serve any real purpose in our lives. If we read what God says here, EVERYTHING serves his plans! The most amazing thing to me is that we find the reliability of God's Word is often easier for us to trust than the assurance that God is at work in the midst of the present events! We doubt his "awareness" of our circumstances - - thinking that maybe these "events" have "popped up" without him really being "in the know" about them. We can never forget the fact that God is divine - - he has no limitations when it comes to being in all places at all times, knowing all things that are known, and exhibiting all his power right when and where it is needed. We have a hard time with these concepts because we are trying to grasp them from a purely "human" perspective.

At best, we can catch a glimpse of the divine - - God giving us insight in a moment in time into the events, serving to bring us peace or assurance that all is in his hands. We don't really "live in" the divine, so we have to learn to "trust in" the divine! Trusting he has an awareness of everything that happens - - nothing escaping his plans - - - it is hard sometimes. We don't know what a new day holds for us, but we do know this - - God has been in control all along, he remains in control today, and he has full control of tomorrow. There are plans bigger than our understanding at work in our future - - all we can do is trust them to be "worked out" according to his "master plan". We don't see the purpose in many things such as the loss of loved ones, reduction in income, changes in friendships, or an unexpected illness. In our "finite" minds we cannot conceive the plans God has in each of these events - - we can only trust the "infinite" perspective of his "BIG PICTURE" view of it all. Just some things to keep in mind as we launch into this new day today:

- God has placed you in this particular season in your life for a reason. Each season serves a purpose. Some are times of preparation, others are times of growth. Still others seem like times of coldness and dormancy. Even in those "dormant" seasons, there is work being done. The ground of our hearts may seem cool and blanketed in darkness, but just beneath the surface seeds have been planted and are just waiting to take root in just the right season.

- God has designed the friendships you have within this very season. They serve the purpose of helping you with the "labor" and the "rest" of the season you are experiencing. You are not designed to face the seasons of life alone - - he has purposefully placed individuals in your life as companions in this walk.

- God has provided for your future. It may not be evident as you look through the "vision" of today, but he sees that "big picture" of what tomorrow will bring. His "vision" is far better than ours - - he sees right through the present and into the future. We need to trust the Lord to lead us by his hand. He's marked out the path - - we simply need to follow it forward. Just sayin!

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