plans.

i feel like a common theme amongst my friends lately is that of a lack of plans...here we are, in our mid-twenties, with no real long-term goals, and no plans for our future. and when we start making plans, we spend so much time wondering if it is "God's will" that we let fear and anxiety overcome us. but God reminded me of some great truths in His Word this morning...

"the mind of man PLANS his way, but the Lord DIRECTS his steps"..."commit your work to the Lord, and your PLANS will be established"..."commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act"..."the steps of a man are established by the Lord"..."the way of man is not in himself"

the message puts proverbs 16:9 this way: "WE PLAN THE WAY WE WANT TO LIVE, BUT ONLY GOD MAKES US ABLE TO LIVE IT."

so yes, i think God wants us to make plans, and commit those plans to Him, and pray about them, and seek Him...but only HE can establish them, only HE can bring those plans into existance. and we can be CONFIDENT that He WILL direct our paths...He DOES have a plan for our future, and He DOES have a purpose for our lives.

last summer God gave me the phrase "HIS PURPOSE IS THE PROCESS"...much of what He wants to do in and through us is in the process of getting to whatever is next. my love for the theme of the JOURNEY...of learning to trust Him in the dark, in the unknown, seeking His heart...
and that He doesn't want us to do it alone...but with COMMUNITY.
God has totally put amazing people around me, to just do life together, and i'm so thankful.
so even if we're all without plans, and we have no idea about what tomorrow may bring...we're in it together...and that's for certain.

in dependence.

so, it's the 4th of july, and we celebrate our nation's independence.
don't get me wrong, i'm so grateful to live in a country with so many freedoms, but sometimes i think the whole idea of "independence" is messed-up.
we were created to be dependent...upon community...upon God. and i think it's so easy to get caught up in what the world tells us - that we must "be our own person" and be "self-sufficient" and need no one or no thing...admitting weakness or needing help is a sign of weakness.

independence is defined as "freedom from the control, influence, support, aid of others."...that's FREEDOM?! to not have others support you? to not have God, the creator of the universe, aid you? no way.

i think as we see our own weaknesses, and let God come in and be made powerful through them...and as we see that each member of a community comes together to make a stronger whole, and we depend on and strengthen one another...THEN we will be FREE. free to mess up, free to not be perfect.

then i am free to be me.

we must use the power of the kingdom itself to turn from our rebellious, proud independence, to a submissive, humble, childlike dependence on God...

"SO THEN IT DEPENDS NOT ON HUMAN WILL OR EXERTION, BUT ON GOD, WHO HAS MERCY." (romans 9:16)

thank you, jesus, for mercy...that i don't have to be enough...because You already are.