I read a quote the other day by John Piper that goes like this: “Occasionally weep deeply over the life you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Then wash your face. Trust God. And embrace the life you have.”

I will admit, the last suggestion is the most difficult for me to follow. I have a habit of staying in my grief. I find losses and broken dreams difficult to bear, but somehow even harder to let go. Dreams are not a bad thing — especially those dreams we deem as holy and given to us by the Lord. But even then, that doesn’t always mean they are part of God’s will for our life. I have personally left the remains of broken dreams in the gutters and the sidewalks of my life. What I’ve learned is to not give up on dreams or stop dreaming and planning, but to continue to play and build.

Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans of a person’s heart, but the Lord’s purpose prevails.” How this truly describes so many of us! When we are young especially, we have so many dreams for our lives: things we want to accomplish, goals we would like to meet, people we want to know, places we want to visit. But sometimes, the Lord’s plans can be wildly different from our own. Watching our dreams crumble before our eyes can be devastating; however, our God is a God of restoration and promise. He never takes anything away without replacing it with something good!

Heavenly Father, I come before you today with my plans and dreams, some of them broken, some of them half-built. Help me to surrender to whatever your will might be for my life, knowing that everything you do is for good and that my life has incredible purpose!

Throughout This Day: Rest in the promise that his plans are not our own; they are far better!



Tags: Daily Devotional Proverbs 19
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