Walking With Christ

James 4:13-15 (13)Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—(14)yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (15)Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”(ESV)

I’ve made a lot of plans in my life. I can honestly say that most of those fell through. I’ve owned businesses. I’ve worked in several different industries. At one point, I even thought I had found the job I would eventually retire from. Some of these plans, I abandoned. Others I watched slowly whither and die on the vine despite the effort, care, and attention I poured into them.

It wasn’t until after I returned to Christ that I found that God wasn’t standing in my way to be mean or spite me. No, He was guiding me to protect me and prepare me for the path that He wanted me to take all along. With each new venture, I picked up skills or made acquaintances that would help to shape the person I am today. Looking back, I can see that He had His hand on me and my path even during the times where I wasn’t following the sound of His voice. He knew that I would eventually hear Him and come home.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.(ESV)