Do your best, prepare for the worst— then trust GOD to bring victory. Proverbs 21:31 (MSG)
Man, being a mom is hard. Being a mom of TWO littles… I can’t even explain it. We are still adjusting over here. This season is tough. This message I so needed to hear because if you ask Travis I may or may not be a little bit of a negative Nancy. And by a little bit I mean, a lot. I’m wired to plan for the worst. I’m a planner. Type A. I am planning not expecting. Planners always marry expectors. Hi, Travis. We gotta balance each other right! I hope this message speaks to your heart and helps you let go of control and expect the best. Ask for God for His good gifts in your life.
• Expecting the Best – the Bible calls that FAITH
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
• Planning for the Worst – the Bible calls that WISDOM
We all have problems in our life. God wants to give us wisdom to handle and manage our problems.
Sensible people will see trouble coming and avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later. Proverbs 22:3 (TEV)
How do you do both at once?
1. STOP PRETENDING TO BE GOD.
“God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!” Genesis 3:5 (NCV)
“But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Matthew 23:12 (NLT)
Humbly, turn to Jesus and ask for strength. Make that choice to depend on God and not yourself.
2. BASE YOUR PLANNING ON GOD’S WISDOM
God’s wisdom for margin:
• Invest your MONEY. save & give.
The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets. Proverbs 21:20 (TLB) “Give, and you will receive . . . The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.” Luke 6:38 (NCV)
• Spend your TIME. This is the core of where I struggle with margin. I over-schedule. I am a list maker that hardly manages getting that “reasonable” list completed. Not happening. I need wisdom on how to spend my time. The danger of overloading our schedule is like overloading a plane… we crash.
Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16 (AMP)
• Take care of your BODY
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
• Be diligent in your WORK
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8 (NIV)
• Value your RELATIONSHIPS. We are made to relate to others. We need community.
Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. Colossians 3:14 (CEV)
3. TRUST THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL. of finances, health, relationships. Trusting that God is in control is counter-culture. When a problem arrises and we are afraid, we try to grab on to control. I find that I like to be in control as a parent. It comes from a good place of protection. But my control will fail us. Only God has the power to be completely in control. How do we trust him? We wait on him in patience. We stop to wait and see God. He wants us to stop, wait, and practice self-control.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
The LORD is good to everyone who trusts in him, so it is best for us to wait in patience – to wait for him to save us. Lamentations 3:25-26 (TEV)
4. BELIEVE THAT GOD IS ALWAYS WORKING FOR YOUR BEST.
Since he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for the sake of all of us, then can we not expect that with him he will freely give us all his gifts? Romans 8:32 (NJB)
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:11 (NIV)
Ask God to work for YOUR best. Watch [this] inspiring message from Saddleback Church and be encouraged as you learn what the Bible says about God’s purpose for your life.