Bible Study: Placing our futures in God's hands

Romans 15:28-29
Joshua 2:1-7

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Paul didn't plan, when he was writing his letter to the Romans, to arrive a few years later in chains. What he did plan, though, was to keep his future in God's hands and to arrive in God's timing with Christ's blessing.
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My life today doesn't look much like what I had hoped it would back when I was an ignorant teenage girl. I overhear my daughters scheme about their futures and I laugh at their plans, knowing that most of them will never take place and that they will be the happier for it. Their plans include wealthy husbands, farmer husbands, world travels, wildly successful careers, business opportunities, charitable works, children of their own, and many luxuries they read about in fairy tales. They would be excellent authors for the plots they come up with to pretend they are wealthy widows or destitute widows, successful entrepreneurs, famous artists, or nuns whose holiness rivals that of Mother Teresa. They are too young to move in a definite direction and too inexperienced to realize how impractical their role-playing is. I let them dream, knowing that one or more of their dreams may actually come true, and that if they don't then the action of acting out their fairy tales may lead to another type of opportunity, be it in authoring books or in more easily accepting the failure the precedes success.
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God knows that sometimes what we think we want is not what will truly bring us the most joy. Because of his years in chains, Paul has been a comfort to Christian prisoners throughout the centuries. Would he have chosen the life given to him if offered the opportunity? Perhaps he would have preferred to avoid the beatings and shipwrecks and confinement in prison. Yet perhaps he rejoiced in the suffering, agreeing with his fellow apostle (James 1:2) that it would bring him greater treasures in heaven.
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I'm certain Rahab never expected to become the great-great-(...)grandmother of the Israelite Messiah. She was a prostitute among the Israelites' enemies. Yet she placed her future in God's hands and received blessings for it which extended far beyond her own lifespan.

Rebellious toddlers

Romans 11:7
James 4:1-4

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Toddlers are notorious for wanting to do things on their own, regardless of whether what they think they want is truly desirable or whether their actions will produce the result they think it will. That is why it is so important for adults to watch toddlers, lest they decide it's desirable to walk into a busy street or jump into the deep end of a pool. The toddler may think that walking into the street is the best way to recover a ball that rolled away or that they should be able to stand up in the deep end of the pool because they're perfectly able to do so in the shallow end. They aren't aware yet that their actions will give a different result from what they're expecting so they need us to lead them away from danger whether they like it or not.
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God continually led the Israelites away from danger in their relationships with idols and foreign countries. Often their response to His guidance was identical to a toddler's: kicking and screaming and struggling to break free from His arms. It was clear by the time of Christ (and Paul) that many thought their religion was about rules, a way of life to appease an overbearing God, rather than a relationship of love. John, Jesus, the Twelve, Paul, and many others tried to show them another path, but many resisted. Their goal was as misplaced as a toddler's and their actions were leading them away from the abundant life God offered them.
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When God suggests that you follow a different path, is your response as rebellious as that of the hardened Israelites? Do you allow Him to show you where your motives are wrong or your actions are leading you into hardship? Choose to be guided by the One Who is much wiser than you; choose to be one of the remnant who selects friendship with God rather than friendship with the world.

There is no difference

Romans 10:12
James 2:1-4

We categorize our world to understand it. From the time of Adam categorizing animals and plants to name them, we have always sorted everything we see based on a huge array of differences. While natural to us as humans, it becomes problematic when we mistreat individuals because they belong to a group of people we've categorized as "undesirable". Whether by race, physical appearance, wealth, language, cultural background, personality, or whathaveyou, we are committing a wrongdoing if we neglect to treat the people we encounter with the same love the Lord has for them. Most of us have heard enough about the wrongful prejudices of recent generations that we reject them and strive to avoid those particular prejudices ourselves. Yet others creep in without our noticing them: prejudices based on different categorizations. Godly people I know who wouldn't dream of judging others based on their skin color will do so without realizing based on their nationality or financial income or certain socially undesirable personality quirks. It is helpful to occasionally ask the Lord to reveal any prejudices we have and to carefully examine whether our attitudes and behavior reflect the love of the Lord toward everyone we encounter each day.

Lent Day 27

James 1:2-5

40 days of Lent are connected to the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert, 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the desert, 40 days that Moses stayed with God on Mt. Sinai (twice), Elijah's 40 day fasting journey to Mt. Horeb, and 40 days of rainfall while Noah and his companions were on the ark. We take 40 days (approximately) before Easter to pray and fast, remembering the great sacrifice Jesus endured for our sake. We repent for our sins, the sins that He died for, so that we can join with Him as His people and live forever with Him in Heaven. Sometimes though in the midst of our prayers it can feel like we are in a spiritual desert, not hearing any response from the Lord or any sign that He has heard our prayers and petitions. We read the whole story of those in the Bible who fasted or suffered in some way for 40 days and we tend to forget that in the midst of the trial they might not have known how long it would last or what would happen when the trial was over. They might have heard God say "40 days" or "40 years", but then wondered in the midst of the time whether that number really meant an approximation or whether God would forget to bring them out of it or whether the event on the other side of the 40 days was going to be worth the suffering they were experiencing right now. It's easy to look back with confidence; it's not so easy when you're in the midst of a difficult situation. If you are struggling right now, hold on to the truth. God is listening; He has not forgotten you; He does have the very best in store for you. Stay strong in the commitments you made for Lent and know (even when you don't see the evidence) that it is worthwhile and your Easter will be sweeter for the trials you are experiencing now.