When we wake up in the morning and find ourselves with God, we are not only in His hand, we are also in the stream of events that He is orchestrating around us and in us. Each happening is designed to carry us forward in the tasks and purpose He has for us. We are moved on whether we know it or not: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Pro. 16:9).
Every day we are given opportunities to replay the Garden of Eden story: choosing to do our own selfish thing or joining God in His great plan. For instance, we can complain and gripe, or cooperate through praise and thanksgiving; we can do our own petty things, indulging ourselves or, standing in awe of Him, surrender to His higher and greater purposes in obedience and self-denial.
To live in these truths allows us to see more and more of the wonders God has poured into our lives: meaning, purpose, protection, challenge, adventure, security, significance, honor, goodness and guidance, to name a few.
Each day is a new opportunity to join our Heavenly Shepherd as He leads us forth into the pasture of the day, to know that we are moving forward and upward in the perfect plan that He has prepared, filled with purpose and potential for providing Him glory, for defeating the enemy with praise, for seeing others swept into the Kingdom.
The negative feelings which will arise from our flesh–feelings of uselessness and purposelessness, of alienation and fear, of self-condemnation and shame–are an affront to this reality. In Him, in the proven Truth of His Word, we can turn from and reject these feelings and instead live in the light of His acceptance and presence, His purpose, His plan that is for our good and His glory.
Praise be to you, Lord God, for your mighty, unswerving, unstoppable, wise and good plans, into which you have brought us. Praise you that we are in the great stream of your history, where you are moving things to a conclusion and carrying us with you.
Praise you that our trust can be in you, rather than our own feeble wisdom and inadequate strength, or in the government or the weather or money or power. In faith we praise you now for what you are going to do in your wisdom and love today, this week, and in the rest of our lives.