Whose Plan Is it Anyway?

You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail. - (Proverbs 19:21 NLT)

Most of us have plans about how our lives will go. We have made plans to marry, having kids, some have planned on going to school, getting a great paying job with great benefits, and etc. We want the dream. We plan to live a good life and hopefully we are able to accomplish all the things we have on our bucket list before the Lord calls us heavenward bound.

We make mistakes, we fail, we succeed, we cry, we worry, we complain, we are happy, we are joyous. It's an uphill, downhill, steady movement. The journey is not easy nor is it always pleasant. we are constantly finding out that we are weak in one area or another. If you are like me you do ALOT of self-reflection, criticism and fear creeps in. You almost become paralyzed and can't breathe without feeling the pain of life. However, still you plan. Because no matter how hard it is, the pain of staying where you are is more unbearable than the pain of growing and moving forward. 

Jeremiah told Israel that because of their chooses God had to punish them. It's wasn't because he hated them but because they were unwilling to repent. They heard what Jeremiah said but choose to believe those that told them things they wanted to hear. However, Jeremiah keep speaking God's truth, even though it got him thrown into prison. He stood for what was right. Israel did go to captivity and they did have to pay for their mistakes and wrong choices. However, they great thing about it was God did not leave them without hope.

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ -  (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NASB)

My personal observation is that it's not that God does not want us to plan. It is, however, that he wants us to consult with him before we plan.  There is a saying, want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans. this is not entirely true. I think God cries when we try to make decisions without Him because He knows that He will have to get us back in line with His purpose and many times that requires exposure and punishment. 

The Bible says in Proverbs, "To acknowledge Him in ALL our ways and He will direct our path." the key is to acknowledge Him in everything thing. then we will know that we are following His directives and His purpose will be fulfilled without all the heartache and pain. 

You are Bound No More. 


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International 
Booklindahillman@gmail.com 

Get Your Copy Now 
Will You Be Made Whole 
In The Meantime

What Is That To You?

Social media is useful for many things, but contentment is not one of them. at least not for me. even when my goals are good, I can become discouraged by continual reminders that others are accomplishing them first or with greater results. I am prone to this kind of discouragement, so I frequently remind myself that God has given me everything I need to accomplish the work He wants me to do.

This means I don't need a bigger budget or assurance of success. I don't need a better work environment or a different job. I don't need a bigger house, better car or the approval or permission of others. I don't need good health, or more time. God may give me some of those things, but everything I need I already have, for when He assigns work He provides the resources. My only assignment is to use whatever time and talents He has given in a way that blesses others and gives God the glory.

Jesus and Peter had a conversation that got around to this subject. After making breakfast on the shore of Galilee, Jesus told Peter what would happen at the end of his life, Pointing at another disciple, Peter asked, "What about him?" Jesus responded, "What is that to you?"

That is the question I need to ask myself when I compare myself to others. the answer is, "None of my business." My business is to follow Jesus ad to be faithful to his purpose and plan for me. 


You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 
Booklindahillman@gmail.com 

Get Your Copy Now 
Will You Be Made Whole 
In The Meantime

In The Meantime - New Release Get Your Copy Today

In The Meantime: When Waiting is Key is a book that came from a single question, I asked the Lord in 2010, "Lord, how long do I have to wait on the promises you have given me?" The answer God gave me is written in these pages. Not only does it talk about the process of waiting it gives you an understanding of why the wait. While this may not be everyone's experience, I assure you that if you have ever waited on the Lord for an answer to your prayer, you will get an understanding from this book.

I struggled with the process of writing this book because it required me to look into my own life and much of this book convicted me because I saw where many times I have let my unbelief and impatience cause me to lose my footing and have to start all over again. When we see how Elijah deals with his “in the meantime” experience it gives us an insight to the character of God.

Week after week, with an unwavering and steadfast spirit, Elijah watched the brook dwindle and finally dry up. Often tempted to stumble in unbelief, he nevertheless refused to allow his circumstances to come between himself and God. Unbelief looks at God through the circumstances, just as we often see the sun dimmed by clouds or smoke. But faith puts God between itself and its circumstances and looks at them through him.

Elijah’s brook dwindled to only a silver thread, which formed pools at the base of the largest rocks. Then the pools evaporated, the birds flew away and the wild animals of the fields and forests no longer came to drink, for the brook became completely dry. And only then, to Elijah’s patient and faithful spirit, did the word of the Lord come and say, “Go at once to Zarephath.” (1 Kings 17:9).

Most of us would have become anxious and tired and would have made other plans long before God spoke. Our singing would have stopped as soon as the stream flowed less musically over its rocky bed. We would have hung our harps on the willows nearby and begun pacing back and forth on the withering grass, worrying about our predicament. And probably, long before the brook actually dried up, we would have devised some plan, asked God to bless it, and headed elsewhere.

God will often extricate us from the mess we have made, because “his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). Yet if we had only been patient and waited to see the unfolding of his plan, we would never have found ourselves in such an impossible maze, seeing no way out. We would also never have had to turn back and retrace our way, with wasted steps and so many tears of shame.