The Plans of the Lord

This morning I was journalling about the need to do some planning regarding my life and specifically that which I am about for the Body of Christ. I was not sure what to read this morning so I just opened my Bible randomly and these are the verses that I opened to - 1 Chronicles 28:11-14, 19-20 NIV:

[11] "Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. [12] He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the Lord and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. [13] He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the Lord, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service. [14] He designated the weight of gold for all the gold articles to be used in various kinds of service, and the weight of silver for all the silver articles to be used in various kinds of service:

[19] “All this,” David said, “I have in writing as a result of the Lord’s hand on me, and he enabled me to understand all the details of the plan. ” [20] David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished."

My eyes first landed on verse 19, which is really a direct answer to the question I had running around in my mind. This is the exact line I had written in my journal not 5 minutes earlier - "Second, I don't really have a plan for moving forward and setting goals or any thing, I think I need to spend some time and prayerfully consider that."

I love it when the Lord interacts so intimately and directly. The Lord wants to be this intimate and direct with all of us, and really it just takes us listening and believing that He does. I could just have easily not opened my bible, not taken time to listen and just had that idea pass through my mind without asking Him to guide and direct me. It is in listening that I heard Him. Amazing how that works! :-) When I was younger in my faith I found that the Lord spoke louder and more simply, as I was just new at listening to Him, but now it is usually a quiet word. The good thing is that I take time to listen (not bragging at all, this is something the Lord has helped me develop over the last 30 years).

Anyway, the other thing that I really like about these verses is that the Lord put the plans in David's mind (verse 12) and the plans were very specific. Again, I think we often might not believe the Lord would work this way, giving detailed amounts, weights and designs, etc., but David was very clear here that this all came from God and He helped David to understand it. I think it is perfectly fine and right to ask the Lord for specifics if He is giving direction. He cares for us every bit as much as He cared for David and we have the advantage of the Holy Spirit present in us to guide and direct us.

So I guess I am going to be entering into a time of planning, and asking the Lord to give me clear direction and guidance. If you feel like you need help from the Lord to know what to do, ask Him and He will guide you too. All we need to do is listen! Amen Lord, release Your plans!