Today's Devotional Thought
June 28, 2015 by Rachel Piferi
God's Plans Are Best
They say that every writer or speaker has a life message. That there is some Truth of God that resonates so strongly in their story that their messages often point to that one truth more than other truths. Not that all truths aren't equally important, but for many, there is this one life message truth that is special to them because they've truly lived it and know it deeply. And they can teach it, write it, and share it with such conviction because they've been there and know, from experience, it is true.
For me, it's this...
God's plans are always best.
Oh how I have lived that. Often God's plans start off confusing and scary and out of what we were expecting, but they always turn out best. And following Jesus into the unknown, and trusting him through it, yields a crazy full and abundant life.
That's my life story.
God's plans are always best.
I try to stay out of political discussions, especially in blogging or social media formats, because I find that online discussions of social and political issues don't often yield fruitful outcomes. The two-dimensional space of typed words on a screen is littered with conversations that are often miscommunicated, misconstrued, misinterpreted, and often cause more harm than good.
That being said, I have felt a stirring in my spirit to put some words on paper (or on screen) regarding the current Supreme Court decision concerning gay marriage. You see, this weekend, my Twitter & Facebook feeds were full of commentary on it. My Facebook newsfeed emerged with rainbow colored profile pictures, pithy statements for and against gay marriage, and countless blogs trying to sway audiences to be for or against the ruling. I saw the same arguments being given on both sides that have always been given. I saw calls for love and kindness. I saw calls for people not to judge, discussions of "rights," and many people attacking each other for their beliefs (on both sides).
And as I thought about the gay marriage issue, I began fearing that many were missing the crux of the argument. You see, for me, my position on gay marriage is based on something so much bigger than just deciding on this one issue. And I felt so compelled to share why I support that marriage is between one man and one woman and how it relates to a larger worldview by which I try to live my life. You see, I believe that this issue is no different than any other issue in our lives. Yes, marriage is very sacred to God and this is a very important specific ruling, but in the end, for me, my stance on this issue is no different than my stance on any issue.
I believe that any social or personal decision comes down to this: do we rely on our own understanding of things and live by that? Or do we defer to God and trust that His Word and His commands are best for us?
You see, anything can really boil down to this: my plan or God's plan?
Right now, the hot topic issue is gay marriage. But tomorrow, it will be another issue. And in your life, it will be countless issues and decisions where you have to decide, "Am I relying on my understanding of this situation or am I going to seek God and his Truth and then follow him?"
No matter what it is. Or where following him takes me.
And this, my friends, is my life message.
You see, I have learned through experience that God's ways are best. I have learned that his plans sometimes seem contrary to human reasoning and seem odd, but in the end, they are fantastic and so full of blessing. I have learned to forgive when I really didn't want to. I have learned to love when I wanted to hate. I have learned to step out and follow his plans and not my own even when they took me away from something I loved and towards an unknown new life.
I have learned that God's ways are higher, better, and so much more glorious than our own.
You only have to look at the last 7 years of my life to see that God's ways were taking me one way and human reasoning was taking me another. And I had to decide which way to go.
Isabella's pregnancy is probably the best example of this. If I had listened to doctors and scientists and human reasoning, I would have aborted her. But because I listened to God and walked down a path that was so contrary to the human reasoning being given, I have a curly-haired, beach-loving, vivacious little girl playing in her room upstairs as I type this to you.
God's plan over man's reasoning.
But that's not the only example...
In the summer of 2009, I felt the Lord stirring in my heart to leave my career as a college professor at Johns Hopkins and follow my best friend to a small town in Southeastern Virginia to follow a call for us to work together in women's ministry. I left a job that I loved, was good at, and was thriving in to follow God's still, small whisper to move in a completely different direction with our family. We lost significant money on the sale of our house (it really stinks when you bought a house at the height of the market and you sell a house at the depths of the market), we were questioned and criticized by many, and our kids (and us) had to make all new friends & set up a new life in a new town. But because we listened to God and walked down a path that was so contrary to the human reasoning being given, we have an amazing life in an awesome church serving the Lord in several capacities. Our kids and us have the best friends and life is so abundant.
But that's not the only example...
In the Summer of 2011, at the end of a Vacation Bible School session where my husband and I were teaching the middle & high school class, I felt the Lord stirring in my heart that we were supposed to lead the youth full-time in our church. It didn't make any sense to me as we had NO experience teaching this age group, we had small children that needed our attention, we were just getting settled in our new town, and we really didn't have time to take on a new ministry. But because we listened to God and walked down a path that seemed contrary to human reasoning, we have experienced so much abundance and been so blessed by the youth of our church and watching them love and serve God. We have seen our group nearly double in size and been filled to overflowing by the ways they are growing in Jesus and we are growing in this ministry.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.
God knows what is best.
He knows what is best for us as individuals. He knows what is best for us as families. He knows what is best for us as a church, a community, a society, and a nation. He has outlined various truths in His Word that give us clear guidance on what is best for us. And he whispers to us assignments and moves and calls that will be far more amazing than we can even imagine.
And oftentimes, these truths and these whispers run contrary to what human wisdom would deem wise.
So, what does this all have to do with gay marriage, you ask?
I believe the gay marriage decision is just one decision in the many decisions that we will make in life where we have to decide if we are going with our plan and what we think is right OR if we are going to go with God's plan and what he says to do.
Friends, God's Word is very clear about homosexuality and his plan for marriage. In His Word, he is clear that homosexuality is not permissible and marriage is to be between a man and a woman (Leviticus 18:22; Mark 10:6-9; I Timothy 1:10; I Corinthians 7:2; Genesis 2:24). His plans for us are very clear and are for our good.
Human wisdom, however, will try to convince you otherwise. Human arguments based on philosophizing or science will try to convince you that gay marriage is right. They will even try to convince you that your thinking is primitive if you do not support it and your thinking is the most advanced when you support this "right."
However, I have learned in my life, that human arguments & human reasoning is not always right. In fact, human reasoning is much more limited than God's view of things and His wisdom. In my life, I have found that it flat out pales in comparison to God's reasoning. In Isaiah, God tells us that his ways and his reasoning is higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). I have seen from experience that his plans are far better than anything I can reason or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). And I have learned to place my faith in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men (I Corinthians 2:5).
So, in the issue of gay marriage, as with any issue in life, I defer to God. I let him tell me what is best and I will walk in it by faith.
And His Word tells us plainly that His plan for marriage is between a man and a woman. And, His plans are always best. In this situation, as in every other situation in my life, his plans are always best.
So, the question is really this: Are we going to rely on our own understanding of things or how other smart human beings have reasoned an issue and live by that? Or do we defer to God and trust that His Word and His commands are best for us?
Anything can really boil down to this: my plan or God's plan?
For me, I will walk in God's plan. In all issues of life. Because my life testimony has shown me that God's ways are always better than any human wisdom.
I encourage you also to walk in God's plans. In all issues of life. I love you so much that I want you to have the full abundance of life that only comes from walking in God's plans. Plans that are often confusing, run contrary to human wisdom, and will stretch and mold you in many new directions.
Trust me. I know. I've lived it and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God's plans are the best plans. In the case of gay marriage or any other decision in life, God's ways and his plans are best. And I wouldn't want to be any place else than squarely in the middle of God's plan for my life.
And I want that for you too...
December