Have you ever found yourself in a situation that did not seem to be the best for you? Maybe a work situation seemed to be a great trial every single day, and it made the work environment one of stress and constant chaos. Maybe a health issue was rearing its ugly head, and some decisions needed to be made. There are times when everyone must face a hard circumstance, and that situation makes us want to pack up and run away. Our Bible Journaling Scripture today is Isaiah 32:8, “But a noble person plans noble things; he stands up for noble causes.” (CSB)
I know for me, there have been times when I wanted to turn tail and run, but in my heart, I knew there was a reason why I was going through that situation. I have never been the type to run from a situation if I could help it. I usually would stand and face it. That doesn’t mean I always had the proper attitude or outlook on what was happening.
In our Scripture passage today, Isaiah is talking about a righteous kingdom and how a noble person handles themselves. They plan for situations. As I was doing my Bible Journaling God nudged me a little with the thought, “With Your Plans – Pray”. When we are looking to move forward in a situation, it is good to make plans on how to proceed, but we must also pray and ask God for His plan. Is what we are planning part of His will for us? Have we prayed and asked that He guide us in our planning? If what we are planning is part of His plan, is it the right timing?
As my husband and I were talking about this, he read to me from the book, “Power in Praise”, by Merlin Carothers. It is a book on praising God in the middle of your circumstances. The book states that when we praise God when things are not going well, it releases power to us so that we can step forward and walk in that situation armed with the power God gives us through our praise. The more I think about it, that power enables us to make those plans that are needed to step forward into a future that is in line with God’s plans for our lives.
The bottom line is, when we are faced with difficult situations, we must stand firm, and not run away. We should make plans, with the help of God, on how to face our circumstances or how to move forward into what God would have for us. It may be that we are to stand and face the situation head-on, deal with what we must, and with God’s help, show the light of Christ to those around us. If He is calling us to move forward into another area, then we are to pray for His leading, maybe step back a little, access the situation, and make plans to move into the area in which He is guiding us.
As we face difficulties through each season of our lives, we can find peace in knowing that God also has a plan for our lives. His plan is to give us a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) We know that we can trust Him to show us how to deal with the hardships of life, and know that He sets the example for us, as we take a break, and make plans on how to proceed.
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