Today’s Bible Journaling comes from Isaiah 14:24-27. As I searched for a way to create artwork for this passage, I came upon an image in Pinterest that seemed to resonate with me, so I traced it into my Bible. The image is of the cross with a heart on it. God’s love poured out on the cross.
Because this Scripture is a long passage, I won’t include it here, but I encourage you to read the passage for yourself. I read the entire 14th chapter to get background on this section. The chapter is about Israel’s release from Babylon, and they are taunting Babylon, telling them what God will do to them. In the last part of the chapter God says he will lay Assyria and Philistia to ruin for their persecution of His people. What I want to focus on is, throughout this passage God says, “I have planned”, and the 27th verse popped out at me,” For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it?”
I think what jumped out at me in this passage was not only does God have a plan, but His plan can not be stopped or changed unless He deems it. His timing is not our timing, nor His thoughts or plans like ours. (Isaiah 55:8) Oftentimes that means we are waiting on His timing for His plan in our lives to work itself out. The song, “While I’m Waiting” by Josh Waller is playing, and it’s the perfect song for this idea of God’s plan not being ours. God sees the end from the beginning and knows what He will do in our lives. His plan is far better than our plan will ever be.
As I look at the image of the cross with the heart, I’m thinking that God’s greatest plan was to send His Son to die on the cross for our sins and take our place as the punishment for our sin. God had that plan from the foundation of creation. Adam and Eve’s sin did not come as any surprise to Him and He already had a plan in place!
As for me, I can relate with the “hurry up and wait” idea. I seem to spend a lot of my life in that mode. Patience has never been a strong suit of mine, so waiting on God to do something in a specific situation sometimes gets very frustrating for me. But then, I must remember that He knows what He’s doing in my life far better than I do. I’m so glad He has a plan for my life, for without His plans, my life would be a mess! I can not even think of what my life would be like without Him. He has taken me on an adventure that is unequal to any other. I have been places I never would have imagined being. I’ve done things that, as a kid, I never would have dreamed doing! Waiting on His plan in my life is the best thing for me to do.
Even the hard times have not been as bad as they could have been, because He has walked right beside me through each situation. I didn’t have to go through those times alone. His presence was always with me, and it is still today. The joys of life seem that much better and the sorrows of life aren’t as dark as they could be. Even those times when I felt I was at the bottom of a very dark hole, God was with me, so I wasn’t alone, and He let me crawl up into His lap and cry and pour my heart out to Him as He wrapped His arms around me. Even the hard times are part of His plan, and He allows them to show me how much I desperately need Him and rely on Him. In the mountain top experiences, He rejoiced with me, and life was one big party! Those times were just that much sweeter with Him at my side. Each step of my life is planned out by God, and it is for my good and for His Glory! He receives all the praise and honor for what He is accomplishing in my life. Praise God for His plan!
donnasmusings 