Welcoming The Future

In Proverbs 31, we are told that the woman clothed in strength and dignity smiles at the future. She embraces it. The reason she can do this is twofold, and seems contradictory. First, the woman trusts God. She knows that whatever comes into her life (trials, joys, victories, defeats) was ordained in His loving plan. Second, she is prepared. She has prepared her home for anything that might happen. She knows how to keep the well-oiled machine of her home running smoothly. Preparedness is her priority. Are you prepared for an unexpected future? Is your heart set on your own plans, or can you rest and trust God in the event of a job loss or a change in health? In one of Carole King's songs, she laments that her life hasn't followed her plans. Our lives rarely, if ever, end up the way we expect them to. It is a fun experiment to compare the plans you had for your life, and the plans God had for your life. (If you're not sure what God's plans were, just look at your circumstances; wherever you are and whatever you are doing-unless it's clearly sinful-is exactly what God had planned for you.) The key in all the uncertainty (which is all of life, since nothing is ever certain) of life is to trust God and be prepared to follow Him wherever He may take you. Don't set your heart on your own plans, because God's plans will determine your life. (James 4:13,15.) Proverbs 16:9 tells us that we can make plans in our hearts, but it is God who will direct our paths and determine the days of our lives.