Each day during the month of March we will be sharing a devotional from a booklet written by Steve Love. Steve is a member of Canton First and a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor. If you would like a complete PDF of this devotional, it can be downloaded here.
Day 5
Proverbs 16:1 (New International Version)
1 To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
John Wesley wrote, “Men can neither think nor speak wisely and well without Divine assistance.” We are to live life and make decisions to the best of our knowledge. If God changes them that’s OK. The Living Bible Paraphrased states, “We can make our plans, but the final outcome is in God’s hands.”
For some of us making decisions is very hard. At times I must drive my wife crazy because I can not make even the simplest decisions of life. My family’s life was changed by my unplanned accident, but life is still going on. Plans need to be made. We must always allow God to change them, and when He does, they always work out better than we could have imagined.
Our brain injuries were not in our plans. No one wakes up and says, “Today would be a good day to get a brain injury.” Yet many of us now deal with the brain-injured- life. We see the life we are now forced to live and wonder how our lives can have any meaning. Why should we make any plans beyond our crisis and rehab? How can we fit our brain injuries, our life into God’s plans for life? The good news is God still has a plan for our lives. Our lives can still have meaning.
Our lives do have an impact on those around us. The question is will our life impact them positively or negatively. Will the plans we are making affect our lives for the good or for the bad? Making no plans is a negative plan. God wants very much to be apart of our plans for this life. Are we dead or alive? Alive is to make plans for our lives.
I am alive. He is taking care of my needs. We have his assurance that He will work everything for His and our good. Romans 8: 28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” We need to continue to make plans. God will let us know if they are the right ones for us. We just need to take the time to listen to Him.
God will share with us what His plans for our lives are. He will speak to our heart/mind what He wants us to do. Listening and waiting for God to share His plans is not an easy task. God has a plan and a timeline in mind. As we listen, He will show us how and when to act.
Pray and thank God that we are His and that He has a plan for our lives.
Pray and thank God that He loves us and wants only what is best for us.
Pray and ask God to help us making decisions.