Trust God's Plan

We’ve never really given a problem over to God until we completely trust Him with the outcome. So much of our faith in prayer is tied to getting God to do what we think is best. We rejoice as long as God does what we ask or as long as God responds as we think He should.  But what if God has other plans? Is He any less faithful? 

The truth is, God sometimes does have plans that differ from our own agenda.  As we pray, we must be willing to accept whatever He determines best.  That’s never easy, but it’s a place we must come to in our understanding of God. 

The story is told in Daniel chapter 3 of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. A decree went out from the Babylonian king that everyone in the province was to bow down to the golden statue (an idol), and if anyone refused, they would be thrown into a fiery furnace.  I love the bold faith of these three men in verse 17 when they said that God is able to deliver them from the fiery furnace and deliver them from the hand of king. In verse 18 they said, “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” They did not bow to the idol, and just as promised, they were thrown into the fiery furnace.  It wasn’t what they hoped for, but they were prepared to accept the outcome. 

What was the outcome? The king saw four men walking around in the fire, and they were not hurt. He said the “fourth is like the Son of God.” Not only did God spare the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but the king was so impressed with what He witnessed that day, he promoted them to a higher level in His administration (verse 30). 

These three men provide a lesson for all of us.  We must trust God, even if He chooses to work in a different way than we would like. I’ll repeat it again, we’ve never really given a problem over to God until we can completely trust Him with the outcome.  Pray, and pray fervently. Be prepared when God has another plan.

 The Pastor’s Pocket

Pastor Bruce Freeman

 

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