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"He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7 NLT)
Accepting reality is not always easy.
My maternal grandfather raised hogs. The old farmhouse seemed to be surrounded by hog pens. Since hogs are notorious for rooting under fences, I suppose that it made sense to keep them within sight.
A small shed was nestled in one of the hog pens, and it was here that my grandfather herded the hogs that he planned to butcher or take to market. One such sow was large and had just weaned a litter of piglets. Now it was time to sell her. Getting her into the shed wasn't a problem; persuading her to walk the ramp into the back of my grandfather's pickup was. By the time that she was finally convinced, she had almost destroyed the shed. Of course, she didn't know what was about to happen; she merely didn't want to go where someone else wanted her to go. She was comfortable in her environment.
Hundreds of years before the Messiah's birth, the prophet Isaiah told how the Messiah would die and how He would accept His destiny. Without saying a word or bucking reality, He would allow His enemies to accomplish the dastardly deed of crucifying Him.
I myself have periodically struggled with accepting God's plan, and I've known many others who have as well. When God's plan makes us uncomfortable, we must remember that God's plan is always better than ours. For one thing, He can see into the future — and our entire lives. We can see only the present and envision the future. We don't possess the wisdom or fortitude to concoct a plan as God can.
Accepting God's plan requires complete trust. Knowing that He loves us unconditionally and is out for our good helps us to accept His plan. Following His plan will propel us into a brighter future.
Usually, accepting God's plan entails change. Rarely, if ever, will following God's plan keep us in the same place. While no one enjoys change, change with a higher purpose in mind is always beneficial.
Jesus says that abundant living should be the norm for His children. When we accept His plan, we'll experience that. Have you accepted God's plan for your life?
Prayer: Father, give us the faith to accept Your plan for our lives and to follow it obediently and consistently. Amen.
Copyright @ 2021, by Martin Wiles , first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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