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The Best of Them

by Shannon Heiden  
12/31/2008 / Devotionals

"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, 'Where art thou?' And he said, 'I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.' And he said, 'Who told YOU that you were naked?'" (Genesis 3:9-11).

Beautiful One, we are about to enter a new year; that means a new beginning with new possibilities and opportunities. But before we enter into a new thing, let's take a moment and make sure that we are not carrying with us old things..."voices and vices" that have no life or purpose in them. Listen closely to all of the voices that have spoken into your life over the years and ask yourself this one important and vital question:

"Who Told You That?"

We are embarking on the shore of the unknown. A new day is upon us and it is a day that brings renewed hope and a glimmer of getting another opportunity to make this year better than the last. I myself am somewhat of a rebel. I never like to go with the status quo and resolved a few months back that, unlike so many of my siblings, my plans for this New Year would not be made on January 1st; I would put them into practice much sooner. With that being said, I confess that some of my best laid plans laced with my good intentions have met with procrastination, opposition, and just plain old busyness. But before I get discouraged and give in to the voice of failure, I always seem to find my way back to one simple truth and that is:

Many are the plans of a mans heart, BUT it is the purpose of the Lord that will Prevail. (Proverbs 19:21)

As I ponder this simple line in the Scriptures, I began to wonder how many plans that men and women have made have fallen by the wayside because no one told us that "having a plan" is just the first small step of many more to come.

Which of us were ever warned that perseverance, fortitude, a lot of labor, and the powerful overcoming steps of love would have to be taken in order to fulfill the God-given plans we have?

I don't know about you, but somewhere I skipped that class. It wasn't in any textbook, although it was in one Book and, even though I've seen it, I guess I didn't believe it until I had to live it and truly experience what it is to wait, trust, and renew my strength.....

Beautiful One, the truth is the "Best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." I skipped that class, too. However, I found out early on that some of the best plans I made were not only not meant to come to pass but, instead, went a completely different direction.

There is so much truth packed into this quote. Not only is it true for us, but it's even true for a little mouse who makes his home in a field, never anticipating that, at harvest time, a huge machine is going to rip right through all he has built. What does he do then? Does he give up, get bitter, and never rebuild?... or does the mouse look around, move on, and start anew? May I suggest that we could learn a lot from a little mouse.

Sometimes our plans are good, sometimes they are headed straight for a collision with failure, some meet with great opposition, some get stalled before they ever leave the starting blocks, and God shuts some down because we are so disappointed and confused that we prolong and prevent ourselves from coming into the plan he had in mind in the first place.

We make our plans, we dream our dreams, we hope hard and believe strong, we shout from the rooftops with expectancy, fervor, and zeal but then, as time passes, as a little adversity comes, we soon come down from the mountaintop and come back to reality.

And some of our realities are filled with deep seeded pain, rejection, bitterness, unforgiveness, and a sense and feeling of sadness. Oh, we have our moments of joy and fun, but somewhere we get this feeling that there is something better out there and we just can't seem to grasp it.

Do you know what I am talking about?

On one hand you know your life has a purpose and destiny while on the other hand you have circumstances and surmountable pressures that you cannot ignore. Its called "contradictions." We all have contradictions... good and evil working together in unison, in the same person; we love yet hate, we give yet we covet, we trust yet we suspect, we believe yet we doubt, we forgive yet we won't. We have but we don't.

It is not so much the contradictions I want to explore as much as how we see them. We all have them. We are strong in one area and miserably weak in another, that is the truth and no one can deny it, but when you have these contradictions, you also experience the voice that comes along with them. And if we are not careful to silence the voices, they will become a very formidable and real threat that will prevent us from fulfilling even God's plan.

We hear the voice of condemnation, guilt, regret, anger, vengeance, fear, sorrow, and insecurity. And that's just what we tell ourselves! Then we have the enemy, the little "g" of this world and he tells us we're going to die like this, we can't walk with God effectively, we're a fake and phony, and we're not even a real Christian because if we were, we wouldn't be feeling or acting this way....

You know what I'm talking about....

But God wants to ask us one question:
"Who Told You That?"

Who told you that you weren't going to make it out of this or things won't change? Who told you that you are stupid, ugly, and fat? Who told you that you won't amount to anything? Who said that you were just a mediocre, boring person? Who told you that they didn't love you or didn't want you? Who told you that you were dead to them? Who told you that you are a terrible mother, husband or wife?

Who told you that what you see with your heart will never come to pass? Who told you that you're not connected enough, Holy enough, or educated enough? Who told you that you just don't know the right people or that you will never fit in? Who told you that your sister or brother was better than you? Who told you that you were naked and you deserve the judgment of God and He doesn't hear you because if He did you wouldn't be going through this?

Who told you that you will never marry again? Who told you that your loved one won't change? Who told you that you need help but will never find it? Who told you that it's your fault things turned out badly? Who told you that you will never escape your past, as hard as you try people will always reject you because of who you used to be? Who told you you'll never be happy?

Who told you that?

Who told you to be fearful and hide from the Lord?

As if He doesn't see you sticking out behind the trees.....

Beautiful One, before we enter into a new season with any kind of plan, let's spend some time today and list all the voices that have repelled us. Write down all the voices that torment and hinder you, that were not spoken in love to you, that have no life or hope in them. As you write them down, say good-bye and "X" the ones right off your list that were spoken to you in pain, fear, and resentment. "X" off the list the ones that your alcoholic father or mother said to you, and "X" off the list the ones YOU said to yourself in shame.

People in all their best laid plans and intentions have been given way to much power over us. Sometimes even a great prophet can speak the right word over the wrong person and we are left scratching our heads because it was never God's word for us.Sometimes we allow someone else's voice to rain on our parade and, because we met with disapproval from others, we never venture out into the deep because no one we can see believes in us.

Let that not be.....

Do you not know that eye has not seen nor ears have not heard what God has prepared for those who love Him?

Take the time to seek the Lord and if you know that the voice you have been listening to has caused you to have a vice that is not bringing life to you, then scratch it right off your list and out of your mind and heart. God builds up, He edifies, He brings hope, not judgment, fear, and regret. God beckons, the world worries and weighs us down, but God will lift us up and show us things we knew not of.

God always has a plan.....

It is time for us to assemble our choir and make some serious adjustments, for if we don't, they will interfere and hinder our faith, feed our doubt, and cause us to become fearful, frustrated, and confused.

We need to remember at all times and under all kinds of pressures that God always has a plan. Even though mistakes will be made, voices may misdirect us, and even if we become paralyzed in our endeavors, God knows us all to well; He has anticipated our every move and in his mercy He always finds a way to bring us back to where He planned for us to be. As you make your move, dance upon injustice, laugh at the voices who try to interfere with your faith, and keep on walking.

And as we enter this new season remember this: you could have the best plan known to man, it could be right up there with the best of them, but for every great plan, there is great pain involved in bringing it to completion, and if your plan go's awry, don't get discouraged. Get God because His plan will be the one that stands and only you will know because it will be Him that told you so.......

Beautiful One, just believe, and always ask yourself, "Who Told You That?"

Shannon Heiden
[email protected]
changingonelifereachingmany.typepad.com

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