Meditation

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18                    —Jeremiah 29:11 (CEB)

I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.

Arriving home, I slung my briefcase at the sofa. My superintendent had just informed me that he was about to cut my position. The school board would meet in one week to decide the fate of the special program for gifted kids that I had spent eight years building. I had lobbied hard for my job and the program, but the budget was too tight. My boss had decided that the money would be better spent elsewhere. Next year, I would not have a job.

As I tossed and turned that night, I remembered a devotional I had read years earlier, which recommended submitting everything to God’s will. Do I have the courage to pray that prayer now? Am I ready to let go of worries about my future and trust God? I struggled with those questions for the next several days as negotiations continued. By Friday evening, after another discouraging day, I was ready. “Your will be done,” I prayed. “Lord, I accept whatever you desire for my future.” I had not expected to feel such an immediate sense of peace.

When the board met the following Monday, they voted to keep my program and expand it. This was wonderful. But more wonderful was what I had learned: whatever happens, I can find peace by leaning on God.

Prayer—Heavenly Father, when our future is uncertain, help us to follow your son’s example—showing us the way to perfect peace when he prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42, NIV). Amen. 

Thought for the Day—When I yield my life to God, peace follows.

Ginny Neil (Virginia)