This week, Lori is hosting “In ‘Other’ Words” at her site, All You Have To Give. She has chosen a quote by Edith Schaeffer.

“We leave something incomplete everyday, whether it’s an area of housework, school, work, friendship, ministry ~ because we are finite.”

~ from The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer~

After reading this quote, I wanted to add a tag line that said, “and that’s just fine!”  It reminds me of a magnet I have on my refrigerator that says: We plan, God Laughs!  It’s fine to have some goals for the day, a to do list or five 🙂  just be prepared to relinquish your list to the Master of Your Agenda.  He has a way of rearranging lists and agendas to fit his plans!  

There are so many examples of this in scripture, but one of my favorites is in the book of Acts chapter 8…

Philip and the Ethiopian
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road-the desert road-that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

31″How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Philip was flexible.  He was open and obedient and the result was life altering for the eunuch and I am sure for Philip as well. 

Because we are finite, we do not see the whole picture nor how we fit into that picture. Because we are finite, we have a tendency to gravitate towards consistency and predictability.  Because we are finite, a wrench thrown into our plans could cause an oscar nomination temper tantrum performance like none other.

The next time a wrench is thrown into my plans, I am going to stop myself from having a temper tantrum and say “Fine Lord, you have thrown this wrench into my plans use this wrench for your glory today.  Help me to be obedient and open to you and your will for me today.  Open my eyes to see what you see, my ears to listen to what you hear and my mouth to speak your truth.

For more In Other Words posts, head on over to Lori’s.

 

 I thought I would share this quote from the book Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George…

If we are to love God with all our mind, we need to be sure our ideas about God are accurate, biblical, and true. Inaccurate and unbiblical thoughts about God can block His power in our life.  Another crucial step toward loving God with all our mind is determining to place the Bible’s truths above everything we think or feel.  We must guard against allowing our thoughts or feelings to override the great truths of Scripture.

First John 1:9, for instance, sets forth the important truth that, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Although this statement guarantees that God forgives our sins, I have been guilty of saying, after a time of confession, “But I don’t feel forgiven.” When I do this, I am allowing my feelings to take precendence over the rock-solid doctrinal truth of the forgiveness of  sins available to us through Christ.  On other occasions I say, “But I don’t think God could really forgive me.”  Again, I’m allowing my thoughts to take precedence over the Word of God. 

You and I are forgiven, regardless of our feelings and thoughts.  To think we are not forgiven is to think a lie. When my feelings and thoughts are counter to what Scripture teaches, I need to stop and ask…what is true?  The answer is always the same:  The Bible is true, not my feelings or thoughts.  Having reminded myself of that, I then choose to “think forgiven.”

Begs the question, do my thoughts and feelings take precedence over the rock-solid Word of God? 

Lord, may I rely on your Word and not on my feelings and thoughts.