Lugging his large catch, Joe exuberantly clambered through the back door and dropped his creel and hook-laden fishing vest in the corner of the laundry room. That done, he charged through the kitchen door to where his wife stood at the kitchen sink.
“Hey, honey, look what I have!” He held up the fish with a broad smile.
Mrs. Joe turned in obvious surprise.
“But don’t worry. You don’t have to do anything. I’ll change clothes and then fix the fish for dinner.”
“But … you can’t.” Mrs. Joe said. “I’ve already thawed a chicken.”
Mrs. Joe preferred her own dinner plans to her husband’s energetic intentions. It’s often the same in my spiritual life when I choose my life plans over God’s superior designs. And what often happens is that what the Lord has in mind varies from my perfectly and personally created purposes. Why should I follow another path when I’ve already chosen my own?
Yet when I think about it, preferring God’s ideas to mine is dumb and a bit pathetic. Why would I choose imperfect plans over perfect ones? Especially when God designs His ideas just for me. His purposes cover every angle of my life–some angles for which I would never have anticipated or prepared.
Maybe it’s the same for you. If so, consider adjusting your plans and choices to fit the Lord’s personally designed purposes. Doing so will benefit you and glorify God.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay and Pexels.)
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Anne Adams is a retired church staffer living in Athens, Texas, where she writes a historical column for the local newspaper. Her book Brittany, Child of Joy, tells about her mentally disabled daughter and was published in 1986 by Broadman. She has taught junior college history and has published in Christian and secular publications for forty years.