“By intertwining our own desires and ideas with prayer, we invite divine guidance from the Lord to enlighten our paths.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 5, 2025
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Psalm 37:23
As we enter a new year, it’s a beautiful opportunity for reflection. We can celebrate our achievements, honor the goals we’ve reached, and recognize those we still aim to conquer. During January, many people carve out time to envision their hopes for the year ahead. While it’s a good thing to create a blueprint for all the things we want to achieve, let us not forget the old saying, “We make plans, and God laughs.” As we create our plan for the upcoming year, a wise person leaves the door open to hear from The One who directs our steps.
Recently, while listening to a podcast, someone said they were a control enthusiast. I paused and thought about that for a moment, realizing it was a polite spin on how they prefer to control their lives. If there was a group for this, I’d be one of the primary members standing up and introducing myself — “Hello, my name is Pat, and I’m a control enthusiast!” All joking aside, it is believed that individuals who have experienced traumatic events in their lives may develop a need to control their environment as a coping mechanism to feel safe and secure. Trauma can often leave a person feeling powerless, so they attempt to regain a sense of agency by exerting control over situations around them. Perhaps this sounds familiar to you, and you can relate your desire to plan every moment to a past hurt or challenging situation you encountered. This is all understandable, but as believers, we don’t want to miss God’s divine direction in our lives.
As we embrace this time of planning for our new year, let this serve as a powerful reminder for us to lean into the Holy Spirit and do as Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”
Take a moment and consider these few things that could happen if we allow God to direct our path:
By intertwining our own desires and ideas with prayer, we invite divine guidance from the Lord to enlighten our paths. While we may make plans, we can trust that God is leading us.
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
Prayer
Father, while I am grateful for the ability to make my own decisions in life, my heart’s desire is for my life to take the path you wish for me to be on. As this new year unfolds lead me in the direction you wish me to be on as I trust you with my entire being.
Application
As you begin to sketch out your plans for the new year, take a moment to ask God to share His plan with you.
Related Reading
Isaiah 43:18-19; Job 8:7; Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians 4:6
Worship Resource
Passion feat. Kristian Stanfill: Glorious Day
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