Good Idea or God’s Idea
ICS Daily Devotions
Exodus 33:12-15 (NKJV) Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.
God’s plan and purpose were to give the Promised Land to the Israelites, but the land was inhabited by giants who would not surrender without putting up a fight. The Israelites had the choice of either dealing with these giants on their own or submitting wholly to God and having God fight for them with His presence. Moses was a wise leader who pleaded with God to go with them. Likewise, we must also seek God for His will and ensure that His blessing is in our pursuits.
So how do we know whether something is the will of God? God has revealed certain specifics for us to ensure that our prayers are answered. We need to abide in Him, walk in His ways, His will, and His calling for our lives.
John 15:7 (NKJV) you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
However, we often carry out our agenda in life and expect God to bless it and bail us out if needed. We expect and demand that God blesses our plan, and we become disappointed when God does not. What we need to know is that God is not obliged to bless our plan when He was not even consulted, and we are certainly in no position to dictate God to do things for us. It might be a good idea to start a business, migrate, have a joint venture, or purchase a franchise. Nonetheless, these are all men’s ideas, and not necessarily God’s ideas. Therefore, we should always obtain God’s endorsement before we rush out to execute our ideas.
Because He is the Lord of our lives, we must consecrate our plans, ideas, and dreams to Him. If it is our idea without consecration, we will need to fund it ourselves, but if God has given us the idea, we will own the idea, and know what the final product will look like because We are impregnated with it.
Sermon Series: Unless Your Presence Goes with Us
