Submit Your Plans

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight ~ Proverbs 3:6 NIV

I’ve always been a planner—on everything from birthdays to budget items. They weren’t bad plans; who plans to fail. But because I didn’t ask God first, it was like I was planning to fail because I failed to ask God for His plans.

In November, 2015, God drew out the plans for a small group He wanted me to lead. He called it, “Princess Bride,” (no, not the movie). The curriculum pulled from a lot of scripture and many books by strong Christian authors. As the small group semester approached, I sat down and wrote the notes for each session. I had the whole thing planned. The first session went…well…it wasn’t that exciting, honestly. But then something AMAZING happened: God came into the room! Just like the lyrics for Bryan & Katie Tolwart's song, When You Walk Into the Room, say, “When You walk into the room everything changes...”

God’s presence changes everything—thought processes, how your body functions, even your plans, even my plans. And because we serve a gracious God, He didn’t trash my plans. He just changed them to match His. The lessons from there on out were so impactful—not just for the other girls, but for me, too—that I waited with expectant hunger for God to show up and change my plans. He did it that whole semester. That one semester so rocked my world, my prayers, my expectations, and my planning that anytime something comes up, I take it to God first and ask Him what He’d like me to do with it. Don’t get me wrong; I’m still a planner. But because I look with expectancy, as Isaiah 40:31 says, I know that I can rest in Him and trust His plans.

What plans do you need to turn over to the Lord? Invite His presence into the room and see what He doesn’t change in your life.

©Heather Potts 2017

Posture to Receive

 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith… Just consider and meditate on Him… ~ Hebrews 12:2-3 AMP

Sick babies.

Sick and/or worn down parents.

Little to no sleep.

Exhaustion has given way to…anxiety…and worry that tonight will be like the previous two: awakened every hour…

And at 10:33 tonight I find myself asking my Father, “Why?” And He stirs worship—a need for worship—in my heart. As the music sweeps over me, I hear the lyrics, “Would you come and tear down the boxes that I have tried to put You in / Let love come teach me who You are again /…/ Come and do whatever You want to,” (In Over My Head, Jenn Johnson). As the music crescendos into the climax, I can feel Holy Spirit rush into the room and crash over me.

Control. All my life, I’ve liked control. But God told me to let go. During a recent fast, God showed me I have been holding on to too many things too tightly. And He said it was cutting off my life’s supply. He showed me that a clenched hand can neither give nor receive life. He reminded me of when I would choke on water while swimming as a child. When choking, you’re instructed to raise your hands above your head, which opens up your airways to receive oxygen, to receive life. The same is true in spiritual matters. When we lift our hands in surrender, turning over control to Jesus, we have finally put ourselves in a posture to receive from our Father.

Let Go. In his book, Circle Maker, Mark Batterson said, “If you seek answers, you won’t find them, but if you seek God, the answers will find you…You need to let go and let God…by resisting the temptation to manufacture your own answers to your own prayers,” (65). Trust and surrender go hand in hand. If I never let go, I can never expect to be amazed by all the ways God wants to answer my prayers.

If, like me, you’ve found yourself holding on to things you need to let go of, simply lift your hands in surrender to Him. Breathe His life in deeply, fill your lungs fully, and exhale slowly. Now rest and receive from Him.

©Heather Potts 2017