Daily Devotional 8/21/22

Isaiah 37:26

God promises us that he is always working according to a plan that has been in place since the beginning. He is never making things up as he goes. Everything has been worked out carefully and is proceeding on schedule. Nothing takes him by surprise.

Things come into our lives that seem to come out of nowhere. We are caught off guard. But God is not. He knew about your situation before it occurred. He filtered out everything about it that he could not use for his purposes. He prepared you in advance and put provision in place.

When things come unexpectedly into our lives, the first thing we need to do is look around for what God has already put into place. We don’t have to say, “God, do something!” but instead, “God, what have you already done? How can I position myself to be in the flow of your provision?”

When we know that God has a plan, we can live with confidence. Life is not a conglomeration of disjointed events happening randomly. God’s plan flows through generations, from one event to the next, all tied together in an integrated pattern.

If I were to give you one piece of a five-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle and ask you to look at it and tell me what the picture on the front of the box looks like, you would not be able to do it. But be assured: God knows the picture on the front of the box. Each piece is getting you closer to it. Don’t waste your time or emotions trying to figure out the picture from one piece. Let the pieces of God’s plan come together. Be patient. Live confidently.

Father, I don’t have to know what the big picture is, because you do. I trust that you are moving all things in the direction you have planned.

You find no difficulty in trusting the Lord with the management of the universe and all the outward creation, and can your case be any more complex or difficult than these, that you need to be anxious or troubled about His management of it?

Hannah Whitall Smith(1832–1911), American lay speaker and author