Plans

Someone said, "Remember that I can fit everything into a pattern for good, including the things you wish were different. Start with where you are at this point in time and space, accepting that this is where I intend you to be." This can be a daunting opinion to hold. We long to see this all-embracing pattern for good! Sometimes we can’t begin to imagine how the Holy Spirit can guide us to fit all our struggles into such a pattern. Sometimes our circumstances seem like a series of gigantic mistakes; I should have done something differently, I should have avoided this mess. I need to make a new beginning but how can I begin to correct something I created, something I should have been able to prevent in the beginning. Jesus told His disciples, the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Many times when we try to accept our circumstances as God's will, we feel as if we are against a solid wall. We need to determine to make a new beginning and ask the Holy Spirit to help us make decisions that will glorify God. Even then we may perceive that each step forward is accompanied by two steps in the opposite direction, the Holy Spirit may be helping us at levels we do not perceive. In these cases, we need to start anew and continue to follow our understanding of the pathways provided by the Holy Spirit. Even if we could see the all-encompassing pattern, you wouldn’t be able to understand it. Some things-many things-are simply beyond our grasp. We should not dwell on what we could have done differently, for that is an exercise in unreality: The past cannot be different from what has actually occurred. NOW is the only place and time to start anew. We need to accept our present situation and learn from what happened, as best we understand it. We must trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us to eternity. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Rom. 8:28 (NASB). Cf. Deut. 29:29:  "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." (NASB).