You know, several years ago, the LORD lead me to a wonderful church and while I
was there I learned many things!!! Our
pastor was a true man of GOD who studied and prayed and sought THE LORD
diligently!!!
However, as I was around these new people and we went to churches that were new
to me, I would hear my new friends and others making a certain remark!!! And I was intrigued!!!
Truthfully, there were times that I thought they were just copping out or using
THE LORD as an excuse to get out of things that they didn’t want to do!!!
However, I soon came to realize that even though this remark seemed at first to
be a cultural saying, it wasn’t just something that Grandma had passed
down!! And it wasn’t just something that
they had made up or been taught to say, it was A TRUTH!!! And it was correct!!!
And I too, now say this same thing when I am talking to folks!! Do you know that THE LORD reminds me to say
it?
One day not too long ago, I found that this saying is indeed in GOD’s WORD!!! Was I surprised? Well, momentarily, but then as I thought
back, I realized that I was NOT all that surprised!!!
Why should I be surprised that this gem of wisdom came
out of THE WORD OF GOD!!!
Proverbs 2:6-8 (KJV)
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his
mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler
to them that walk uprightly.
8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of
his saints.
So, what is this saying????
“IF THE LORD SAYS THE SAME!!!”
James 4:14-15 (KJV)
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is
your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live,
and do this, or that.
I wonder how many folks say this, when they make plans and are telling their
plans to others. Do you?
You know, I can make all sorts of plans, but if I do NOT seek THE LORD when I
set out to make plans, then I am NOT being wise!!! And if you are making plans and NOT seeking
GOD about them, then you are NOT being wise!!!
Don’t you understand THAT GOD
KNOWS AND SEES EVERY THING!!! HE
knows and sees what will happen tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day,
and the next day, and the day after that and the day after that, and so on and
so forth… FOREVER!!!!
THE TRUTH is that we need to talk to GOD or SEEK HIS HELP any time we make
plans!!! It is NOT for HIS GOOD!!! It is for our own good!!!
When GOD says that HE will lead, guide and direct us, HE MEANS IT!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge
Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
You know, GOD has given us HIS HOLY
SPIRIT to lead us into all truth!!! And I
don’t know about you, but I want to walk in THE TRUTH!!! I do
NOT want to walk in untruth or live a lie!!!
I want to know what is to come!!! I like
it when the HOLY GHOST shows me things to come!!! It amazes me that GOD would bless me like
that and let me know what will happen in the future!!!
Don’t you want to know the future?
John 16:13 (NKJV)
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He
will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority,
but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
I have had visions and
dreams!!! I have had THE HOLY GHOST show
me and reveal things to me!!! It never
ceases to amaze me!!!
So, when I start making plans, I try to always consult GOD!!! But consult doesn’t even sound right, at this
point!!!
You know, I don’t just want to know what GOD thinks about what I am
planning!!! And I have no intention of
seeking HIS advice and then deciding whether or NOT I like what HE said!!!
I like what Joyce Meyer said about making plans!!! She said we should make our plans and then
submit them to GOD!!!
We need to make sure that we get HIS approval and HIS input!!! But it isn’t just that!!!
I want to know from MY FATHER IN HEAVEN,
and from THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, what I need to do!!!
I WANT GOD TO DIRECT MY PATHS, AND MAKE MY WAY SMOOTH!!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP)
5 Trust in and
rely confidently on the Lord with
all your heart
And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
6 In all your ways know and acknowledge and
recognize Him,
And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that
block your way].
If you have ever driven on a winding road, it sometimes feels like it will
NEVER end!!! You will feel like you’ll
NEVER get where you are going!!! And a
rough, bumpy road will seem to jar your insides!!!
Isaiah 45:2 (KJV) I will go before thee, and make the
crooked places straight…
When I make plans, I like for them to go like CLOCKWORK!!!
You know, I had to go Jury Duty this last week, and because the court doesn’t
ask you if you want to come or NOT, I didn’t say to them, If the LORD says the
same, I’ll be there!!!
However, I sought the LORD for HIS
HELP!!!
I asked THE LORD to make sure that I got there okay and to make sure that everything
worked out right!!! I asked HIM to make
sure that everything went smoothly!!!
And I was so glad that I had asked because GOD took care of everything and it
was almost the most perfect day that I have had in a long while!!!
Why wasn’t it the most perfect?
Well, I made 3 mistakes!!! There were 3
things that I failed to ask GOD about before I did them!!!
First, on the night before I had to be there, I decided to make an unplanned stop
at WalMart on the way home from church without asking GOD, if that was a good
idea!!!
Because of my late night stop, I ended up staying up too late and I was tired
the next day!!! If I had gone to bed
earlier, I would have been well rested and I would have felt better the next
day!!!
And as I just said, I allowed myself to stay up too late!!! I could actually have gone to bed earlier,
but I didn’t make myself do that, so I suffered the consequences!!!
And lastly, I didn’t ask GOD where I should park!!!
You see, I had been there before and I remembered how crowded the parking lot
was and how there was barely any place to park.
So, I had decided to park back behind the building which seemed like a really
good idea, until I found myself walking along side of this really wide building
on the grass and then up a hill. It was
way too late by then!!! If I had asked
GOD, HE would have told where to park!!!
If I had been well rested, my mind would have been clearer, and I would have
realized that I could get back in my car and drive around to the front of the
building and park, more quickly than I could make that walk!!! But when you are tired, you don’t always think
as clearly as you could otherwise!!!
Looking on the bright side, I needed the exercise!! On the way back to my car, I took the closest
sidewalk, (it was on the opposite side of the building) and it went all the way
out to the street. And even though it
was still a bit of a walk, it was quite pleasant!!! And the path that I took was very pretty!!!
So, all in all, I had a great day
and a great shopping adventure (I went to a new store), and I had a good lunch,
before I headed home!!!
You know, GOD was just reminding
me that there were a lot of things that
I did right and that went right that day because I had sought THE LORD and
asked for HIS HELP!!!
The night before, I had checked to make sure I had plenty of gas. I parked my car at the front of the driveway,
and I parked it facing out, so that I could leave more easily. That way I could just drive down the road and
NOT back out of my driveway!!!
I had the trash ready to go to the curb, so all I had to do was toss it on the
sidewalk when I took my dogs outside that morning.
I had set my cooler on the counter, ready to be packed and I had put my extra
bag in the car.
I had asked THE LORD to help me fall asleep the night before and I had asked HIM
to wake me up the next morning, so that I wouldn’t over sleep!!!
I even asked THE LORD what I should eat that morning before court.
Most importantly, I had asked THE LORD what I should wear, so that I could get
my clothes laid out and ready to wear the night before court!!! I was so thankful that I didn’t have to hunt
for clothes while I was trying to get ready!!!
I actually had 2 shirts that I had thought of wearing for court, but when I
asked the LORD that morning, if I should wear the other shirt instead, HE told
me that I had green hair clips that would match the green shirt that I had laid
out!!! Well, that settled the shirt
issue, as THE LORD knew it would!!! I
definitely like everything to match!!!
That morning, just as I have done many times before, I had asked THE LORD to
help me with my hair!!! After all, HE KNOWS EXACTLY HOW I LIKE TO WEAR MY HAIR!!!
And you thought that I was kidding
when I said that THE LORD TELLS
ME WHAT TO WEAR!!! Well, I am NOT
KIDDING!!! And THE LORD ALSO HELPS ME DO
MY HAIR!!!
Maybe all this sounds stupid to you, but I really don’t care!!!
For me, SEEKING THE LORD IS ABSOLUTELY
NECESSARY because following HIS
DIRECTIONS KEEPS ME SANE and MAKES MY DAY GO SMOOTHLY!!! And doing all this extra planning is just one
a part of being obedient in doing what THE LORD tells me to do!!!
A SMOOTH AND UNEVENTFUL morning is
exactly what I wanted!!! To have my morning
go like CLOCKWORK was wonderful and calming and peaceful!!!
You know, I hadn’t even thought about the trash, but THE LORD is so
good!!! HE reminded me the night before
that the next day was Trash Day, so I got I was able to get it ready to go out
ahead of time!!!
GOD also had me set my cooler on the counter which I had never done before and
it worked out beautifully!!! I will be
doing that a lot from now on!!!
THANK YOU, LORD FOR THE WONDERFUL
IDEA!!! And THANK YOU FOR MY WONDERFULLY
PEACEFUL MORNING!!!
I can remember one Sunday morning many, many years ago!!! Every thing had gone smoothly. I had even gotten up early and I was ALL
dressed and ready to go to church somewhere!!!
I had no idea what church GOD was going to send me to that day, but I was ready
and so, I asked THE LORD where I was supposed to go. It was at that point that THE LORD told me to
sit down and wait!!! So, I got my Bible
out and sat down in my chair.
It was cool outside and I had the windows open.
I don’t know how long I sat there reading, but I am pretty sure that it
had NOT been 30 minutes!!!
I was still sitting there waiting, when the smell of a skunk came wafting in
the window!!! As you can guess, it was
NOT a pleasant odor!!! And thankfully,
THE LORD didn’t allow, but that small waft of scent to come in my house!!!
However, the minute I smelled that
skunk, I was very, very thankful, THAT I HAD SOUGHT THE LORD’S WILL that
morning!!! And I WAS DOUBLY THANKFUL
that I OBEYED GOD and sat down in my chair!!!
I have never been so thankful, that I sought THE LORD as I was that morning!!! I never would have thought about a skunk
being in my front yard!!! EVER!!!
I want you to remember that SKUNK, when you think, I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME TO SEEK THE LORD!!!
Proverbs 19:21 (NKJV)
There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s
counsel—that will stand.
I can’t tell you how many times I have thrown on clothes, grabbed my purse, and dashed out that same door!!!
Can you just imagine how I would have felt if I had run out that door and right
into ole mister skunk?
That smell would have ruined my good clothes, my purse, my Bible, and anything
else I had in my hands!!! It would have
burned my eyes and gotten all in my hair!!!
And I would have needed a tub of tomato juice to kill that odor!!!
Just think if that spray had gotten in my house!!! You know, their scent is oil based, so it
doesn’t come off or wash off easily!!!
It would probably even ruin a plastic shower curtain!!! Let alone ruin the rug in your bathroom.
And that smell… I worked
with a man who had had this happen to him and his daughter. It was awful!!! That smell lasts for weeks!!!
You know, a couple of years ago, my dogs got hold of a skunk one night, and my
poor Doosey got the worst of it. That skunk’s
spray burned his eyes, and nose!!! I had
to use a lot of tomato sauce to bathe him!!!
Doosey is mostly white, and he got a tomato sauce bath out in the front
yard, no less. So, after that bath, he
was pink for several weeks and he wasn’t worried about it!!! He was sure glad that his momma had that
tomato sauce!!! And so was I. For some reason (hint, hint), THE LORD had
had me buy extra tomato sauce, at least 2 weeks in a row!!!
SO, REMEMBER THE SKUNK!!! And don’t forget to buy tomato sauce on
occasion!!!
Now, that I am thinking about this, I am going to ask THE LORD to remind me about that SKUNK from now on!!!
You know, even when there isn’t a skunk in my front yard, I NEED THE LORD’S HELP ALL THE TIME!!!
Take this evening for instance!!!
I started out writing a different post!!!
The LORD had blessed me to read a wonderful passage today and I had felt HIS
PRESENCE!!!
So, I had decided to write about this same passage and the things that HE
showed me when I was reading. And even
though I knew HE was here with me, my post wasn’t going well. It just wasn’t flowing!!! I just wasn’t enjoying it!!!
I told the LORD that I would rather finish it later and I asked HIM if there
wasn’t something else I could write about!!!
GOD reminded me of James
4:14-15 and about seeking HIM before making plans!!!
So, I began to write this post, IF THE
LORD SAYS THE SAME!!! And I
am enjoying sharing the things that I have told you!!! I have really enjoyed writing this post!!!
You see, it doesn’t matter what you think of me, what truly matters to me is
that YOU KNOW THAT THE LORD WILL HELP
YOU NO MATTER WHAT YOU NEED!!!
What you need help with may seem very small in someone else’s eyes, but IF YOU NEED HELP, then YOU NEED HELP!!!
And to THE LORD, there isn’t any small request!!! NOTHING IS TOO BIG or TOO SMALL!!! Don’t ever forget, GOD knows how many hairs
that you have on your head!!! And HE
knows when the little birdie falls from its nest!!!
Luke 12:6-7 (NKJV)
6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two
copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.
7 But the very hairs of your head are
all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
I say to you again, that GOD KNOWS HOW MANY
HAIRS YOU AND I HAVE ON OUR HEADS!!! And
so surely, if the number of the hairs that we have on our heads is important to
GOD, then nothing is too small or too silly to ask HIM!!!
Therefore, I urge you to REMEMBER TO SEEK GOD when you make plans!!!
Proverbs 16:9 (AMPC)
A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and
makes them sure.
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