What a so not-thoughtful title, right? “The peace and delight of having no plans!” 

I remember it like it was yesterday, last year around this time couple weeks before my graduation and everyone was fascinated and obsessed with the question “so what are your plans after graduation?” And I always answered that I had no plans, which was literally true. But something in me always cringed when I gave that answer; with everyone’s already laid-out  plans, what was wrong with me for not having any plans?! Though some part of me cringed, another part of me (the part of me that is in love with the Lord) rejoiced that I didn’t have a plan. I was glad that I didn’t have a plan because I serve a Mighty God who orders my steps. (Psalm 37:23). 

The voice of God in me always asked me “why would you worry about the same things unbelievers worry about?” 

Do Not Worry

Please meditate and read slowly the following verses. Read these verses that are coming from the very mouth of the Creator of the Universe- our Living God! 

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:25-34

There is NOTHING that can possibly be added to these words of Jesus except to say “Yes Lord, we will obey Your words, we will trust You with our today and tomorrow and we will NOT worry.”

Did you notice verse 32? “For after all these things the Gentiles seek.” As followers of Jesus, we can’t seek what the world is seeking. Our testimony is supposed to point to Jesus Christ. Our lives are supposed to reflect the light of Jesus and that is only possible when we DO and ACT UPON the words He gave us!

Peace

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, 
And He delights in his way. 
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; 
For the Lord upholds him with His hand. 
I have been young, and now am old; 
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, 
Nor his descendants begging bread. 
He is ever merciful, and lends; 
And His descendants are blessed. 
Depart from evil, and do good; 
And dwell forevermore. 
For the Lord loves justice, 
And does not forsake His saints; 
They are preserved forever, 
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. 
The righteous shall inherit the land, 
And dwell in it forever. 
The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, 
and his tongue talks of justice. 
The law of his God is in his heart; 
None of his steps shall slide.” Psalm 37: 23-31

Lately I have been learning not to worry about my tomorrows and I can’t tell you how peaceful it has been. Because for me, it’s when I try to plan for tomorrow that worries start to creep in. 

When my mind starts to wander about my future and what I will be doing, why God hasn’t answered this or that, the Lord would ask me: what do You need from Me today? Today you have food for your stomach, you have clothes on your back, you have a place to sleep and that’s more than enough for today. Whatever comes tomorrow the Lord will strengthen you to deal with it. 

And the beauty of not worrying about tomorrow not only gives you tremendous peace in your life but it also strengthens your relationship with the Lord, simply because you are faithfully learning to trust God more each day. 

“No one who hopes in You will ever be put to shame, 
but shame will come on those 
who are treacherous without cause.” Psalm 25:3

“For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” Romans 10:11 

It always baffles me how we (me included) can “claim” to believe that God saved our soul but struggle to truly believe that He intends to truly take care of our everyday needs. 

Jesus sweetly and gently remind us “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” 

God loves SO faithfully. SO beautifully. But we will NEVER experience the depth and the beauty of His love if we don’t trust Him in our everyday needs and struggles. 

Why don’t we let ourselves be freely loved by God? 

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He himself has said, “I will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.” So we may BOLDLY say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

Delighting in Jesus 

“…Jesus also presented Himself alive to them after His suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father…” Acts 1:4

Father God, may we always delight in not having plans but in solely having You. Lord, the fact that You make Your fullness something we aspire to, something attainable? This is too holy and beautiful for my frail heart. That I will be Yours Forever? That You will be mine forever? Thank you Jesus. Thank You for the peace that surpasses understanding that You have sealed my mind and heart with. May I forever twirl in Your freedom and Your eyes. In Jesus’s name, Amen. 

May you be blessed by the below devotional by Oswald Chambers like I was. 

“Fellowship in the Gospel”

After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, “God has called me for this and for that,” you barricade God from using you. 

As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord. 

I must learn that the purpose of life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. 

He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy “world within the world,” and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of being “frost-bitten.” 

Lord, we will rest in You and confidently and faithfully wait for Your voice’s leading…