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christian•devotionals

plans?

plans
September 21, 2020 by mish 2 Comments

“So… what are you doing next week?”  

“Hmmm, I don’t know.  It really depends on whether I have jury duty or not.”

To set the context, a few months ago, I had sensed a change in season and believed that God was leading me to a season to rest.  In obedience, I had made plans to take some time off work.  However, those plans were suddenly in disarray when I received an uninvited notification that I was selected to be part of compulsory jury duty for an 8 week court case.  To top things off, my jury duty was scheduled on exactly my last day of work!

I know God has a sense of humour, but as I started having the above re-occuring dialogue with multiple friends about my uncertain plans, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the passage in James 4:13-15.  

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

I think most of us might agree that 2020 might not turned out the way we might have expected.  However for me, being called for jury duty pushed it to a whole other level for me.  I realised God was really trying to teach me a key lesson and graciously arresting my attention.  I still haven’t arrived there yet, but I’m slowly learning that it is futile to be stubbornly fixated on my plans and refusing to be open to the direction and journey that my loving and gracious Heavenly Father wants to take me on.     

As I spent time meditating on those verses, it highlighted this illusion.  I don’t know about you, but I think majority of the time, we think our lives are in our own hands.  It’s easy to forget sometimes that I am NOT in control of my life, but God is.  Perhaps through these last 6 months during COVID-19, you might have experienced how quickly things can change, and how we are ultimately not in fully control of our own schedule.   

Please don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that it is wrong to plan.  I believe we need to be wise stewards with the resources and talents that He’s given us, including time.  However, I wonder how different my day would be if I was less fixated on completing the plans I had set out for each day, and instead been more open on seeking God’s presence and will throughout the day.   

I love this quote by C.S Lewis –

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life — the life God is sending one day by day.” 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, 

Thank you for your loving care over us… and that you have us in your arms.  Sorry for the times we run our lives without acknowledging your Sovereignty, and we think that our ultimate destiny is controlled by us.  Help us realise that we depend on you for everything… and to have the attitude of humility in our daily lives.  Help us be aware of your presence in everything we do and may we discern with clarity the path you want us to take in our lives.   

Today, as we start our day, may you give us ears to hear and eyes to see and help us be sensitive to where you want to lead us.  And give us courage to be obedient to your promptings. 

Amen.  

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About Me

Hi, my name is Mish.

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mishkoh

love. love doesn't mean doing extraordinary or he love.

love doesn't mean doing extraordinary or heroic things. it means knowing how to do ordinary things with tenderness. 
to love someone is to show to them their beauty, their worth and their importance. ~ jean vanier
the way back ~~~~~~~~ i resisted it’s been a lon the way back
~~~~~~~~
i resisted
it’s been a long time since i’d been there
what’s he going to say
what am i going to say
it’s probably going to be awkward

but when i entered
his arms were wide open
right where the door was
almost like he knew i would come back
like he was waiting all along 

i didn’t get to say a word
i just ran to him
and hugged him
tears streaming down my cheeks
i stood there for ages

comfort 
understanding
unconditional love
i knew in an instant he understood
he sees me 

i didn’t have to explain
i didn’t have the words
he just knew
knew more than 
i could even comprehend 

but why was i surprised?
he created me after all
he knows every single hair on my head
he knows my every step
my every thought 

before every thought is formed
any step is taken
he was there
waiting graciously
patiently for me

to come home
to make my way back
into his living arms
all along
he was waiting 

he was there
turns out
the way back 
was the only way
to move forward
serenity. this has been my view over the last two serenity. 
this has been my view over the last two days.  was only planning on stopping one night, but waking up to this was so therapeutic (even though it wasn’t sunny) that i ended up staying here again tonight. 
i always thought i was a beach gal, but i got to say, having a lake side view has been very calming! it’s changed my perception of lake views. 
i’ll definitely be back here again... 

i’m curious - what’s one thing that has surprised u in 2021? 

#dronephotography #bermagui #ingeniaholidays #vanlife
i wonder - could our inability to rest be linked t i wonder - could our inability to rest be linked to our identity? 

i wrote a few thoughts on rest recently and here are some things i’ve been pondering over...

bill johnson said, “busyness is artificial significance.  busyness can make us feel important, but neither our identity or our sense of significance should come from our schedules”
 
don’t be mistaken - it is courageous to give Him space to speak into your life.  it’s brave, to make a deliberate decision not to crowd your life, to deliberately make space. to listen.  to seek Him.  to want to know your maker and creator more intimately. 
 
i don’t know about you, but i think sometimes in my life when i feel overwhelmed, it’s cos’ i have crowded out my life and don’t make space to seek Him and just listen to Him.  or I know what I’m doing isn’t pleasing Him, and I make myself so busy so that I am numb… to everything.. 

here’s a drone shot from today as i spent the day relaxing, chilling and taking it slow on this rainy day! 

i’m curious - especially if u have read to the end of this long post... what do u enjoy doing when u rest?

#dronephotography #bermagui #vanlife #australia #visitnsw
adventure. it’s in my blood... and every so ofte adventure. it’s in my blood... and every so often, i feel the need to explore this great world, to stir my visual senses... travel to different places, experience new things. 
i find that when i get out of my normal environment, it helps me see things differently, think differently, expand my creativity and come up with new ideas. 
i’m grateful for being able to take time out to slow down. breathe. 
selah
new. i sense a change of seasons. a freshness. a new.
i sense a change of seasons. 
a freshness. 
and i’m posting now to remind me of this moment. this feeling. 
now is the time.  i don’t know if i can fully articulate it in words, by every cell in my body senses the change.
finally.
the time is now.
the waiting has passed and i’m declaring a season of fruitfulness, abundance and fullness. 
in the last couple of months but increasing in the last week, i’ve discovered new things about myself, new gifts 🎹, new miracles, new friendships, new communities to embrace, new business, new ideas... at such a phenomenal pace yet with such calm, ease, and flow.  maybe this is the easy yoke i have been pondering over. 
all thanks and to my maker, who creates, provides and sustains everything. 
soli deo gloria

for those of you waiting, i want to say... it was worth the wait. every single second.  cos it tastes all the sweeter knowing the journey it took to get here.
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