By Sue Dill – Hollansburg, Ohio
Have you ever questioned whether something you felt the Lord made available for you to do was actually from Him? You went forward with the plan and obstacles came up. You had this argument in your head that maybe it was not from the Lord at all.
But a word from the Lord came and settled you. Then more obstacles and more doubt came, so you again asked the Lord for confirmation, and He gave it to you! It really was from Him!
The Lord works with us in a way to push us to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Sometimes that takes us out of our comfort zone. We cannot see the end result in manifestation, so we question the plan.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
That faith is not a trust in our own abilities, but in His abilities to complete the plan He set before us.
Our confidence is His faithfulness. He is full of faith!
He wants us to trust Him so that the arm of the flesh (Jeremiah 17:5), our reliance on ourselves, is replaced by His everlasting arms.
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…” Deuteronomy 33:27 (NKJV)
There, we are completely at rest, letting Him guide us through. When we think about it, the Lord has put His trust in us, or He would not have given us the plan in the first place!
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37:23, 24 (NIV)
While the steps are taken by us, He makes those steps firm, or establishes them, as other translations say. We may make some mistakes along the way or have doubts, but we are upheld by His hand!
The Lord moves along with us in the plan, ready to guide and steady us if we stumble. His love, grace and mercy are amazing!
Sometimes we are impatient to see the manifestation of the plan. In the waiting period, we keep our thoughts steadfast on His promises and the words of reassurance He revealed.
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:3,4 (KJV)
We must not allow thoughts and, more importantly, words that are contrary to what He said to invade our heads or the atmosphere. We are like God through Paul describes Abraham:
“And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Romans 4:21 (KJV)
We do what the writer of Hebrews says:
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” Hebrews 10:23 (KJV)
The Lord does the heavy lifting in the plan. We just get to go along for the ride!
So, as you walk out a plan that the Lord has put in your heart or made available for you to do, keep these things in mind.
Be confident and excited that He is faithful, and He is able to bring you through!
Sue Dill, wife of Tom Dill, has been involved with CFFM since its inception, first serving as coordinator of Children’s Ministry and currently as coordinator of the Voice of Praise worship team. Sue and Tom live near Hollansburg, Ohio.