by Cherie Campbell

Just recently I received an answer to a prayer that I had been praying for over two years. I had been praying for God’s will in the matter, but the answer was not what I was expecting. I was reminded again that God’s will is best for me, no matter what I plan for myself. These verses remind us that what God plans is always best.

Do you think that Joseph would have planned his life the exact way it turned out? Probably not, but Joseph recognized that God was the Master Director. “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:8 NASB).

We can attribute Daniel’s being allowed to eat food of his own choosing to his own persuasive powers, but it was God that moved on the heart of the supervisor. “Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuch” (Daniel 1:9).

What about David? I am sure that he was a great soldier, but did he escape Saul’s hand by himself? “And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand” (I Samuel 23:14 NASB).

When Jehoshaphat was told that “a great multitude” was coming against him, he immediately sought the Lord. He had no false illusions about winning this battle in his own power, but he called on God and admitted that “power and might are in your [God’s] hand” (2 Chronicles 20:6). Jehoshaphat’s answer from the Lord was this: “Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

What situation are you waiting on God for? Are you struggling with your own plans and purposes, trying to manipulate things just to have your own way in a matter? Remember, you may have your own plans, but God can convince, protect, permit, fight battles, and direct events in your life to give you His best.

“If men devise their way, so as to make God's glory their end and his will their rule, they may expect that he will direct their steps by his Spirit and grace, so that they shall not miss their way nor come short of their end.” -- Matthew Henry