I Got This

9A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 NKJV

I have a friend who is very fond of a particular saying.  Every now and then, he'll smile and say "Scotty, I got one ticket to ride in life and I'm gonna go first class!"  Now, I would see this as a foolish statement and here's why.  Which of us knows day by day what it is the Lord God has planned for us?  As Solomon tells us, we may plan our own way, but it is the Lord who ultimately directs our steps in life.  It is the Lord who directed the steps of those who have gone before us, and He will continue to do so.  That is the nature of the universe.  Sure, I may have a good plan, but that can all change in the blink of an eye.  Nevertheless, I am along for the ride no matter where it leads me.  Now for the million dollar question, how do we know if the plan we have is in line with His will?  Well, there might be a simple answer to this.  We're told in Galations that we no longer exist, that we have died {Galations 2:20}.  Taking the place of who it is we once were is Christ Jesus who is now in us.  So, if God is in us, do we not already know His desires for us?  I would think so.  Yet, there are more than a few christians out there who continue to seperate their lives from God.  Many believers sit through sermon after sermon, then as soon as it's over they proudly proclaim "I got this!"  Yeah, right. Next week will find that very same christian walking into church wondering where it is they went wrong.  Well, where we went wrong was in our belief that that we are somehow independent from He who created us.  How foolish.  I can't point too many fingers at others around me, I was there once myself.  That is, until it was revealed to me who the man Jesus really is.

9not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV 

I would say that instead of me claiming "I got this," I should instead proclaim "What is it that you are doing in me Lord?"  In the end, it is not about me, but about Him.  I know that may be a tough pill to swallow for all those believers who are hell bent on paving their own road through life, but it is the truth of our Lord that He continually directs the steps of His children in the direction He desires for us.  Sure, there are those who take their own pathway through life, but is this God abandoning us or our own abandonment of God?  Remember, it is God who will never leave us nor forsake us, that's His promise.  We do well to pay little attenton to what we alone can accomplish and more on what God is accomplishing in us.  In reality, I don't have this, but God does.

~Scott~