“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”
Proverbs 19:20-21
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Have you ever argued with a three-year-old? I honestly think it is one of the most frustrating and agitating things that one could ever experience.
Most days, I would rather go to court against the attorney general, then have to ration with a three-year-old. (If you have ever experienced rationing with a three-year-old you know I’m not crazy for saying this.)
The thing about three-year-olds is that they have finally reached an age where they are starting to understand life a little bit more and are starting to feel independent.
They can usually walk, talk, feed themselves, engage with other people and kids, as well as have an understanding of who is in charge.
3 Simple Things That Will Change Your Perspective From Negative to Positive
I would say that around age 3, children begin their lifelong struggle with control.
When I was in high school I nannied for a 3-year-old. He was kind of like a sour patch candy. He was super sweet one moment but the next would be laying on the ground crying because I wouldn’t give him ice-cream at 8 am in the morning.
I would try to explain that you can’t have ice-cream at 8 am because you need to start the day with something healthy, but nothing would work.
He would continue to scream “Why?” until I would just leave him alone to calm down.
When I think about my relationship with Jesus, I picture myself as the little kid who is mad because he didn’t get ice-cream at 8 am.
I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted something from God, and have thrown a tantrum because “it’s not time yet.”
We constantly ask “Why?” when he does something we don’t understand, push back when he tries to keep us safe from things only he can see, and get mad when he makes us do things that make us better in the long run.
Luckily for us, Jesus has a lot more patience than I, or any of you do. When we lie on the ground, crying because we are so upset, he stays right beside us, waiting out our storm.
It’s important to remember, and sometimes hard to remember, that Jesus knows what is best for us, and when it is best for us.
That job you wanted?
God has your best plan in mind.
That boyfriend you thought you were going to marry?
God has your best plan in mind.
That college you didn’t get accepted into?
God has your best plan in mind.
God would never withhold something from you that would be best for you. We might think it would be a good job, or a good husband, or good college, but He knows it wouldn’t be the BEST.
Just like the little boy I nannied for, we sometimes forget that God see’s the bigger picture.
On the particular day of the little boys 8 am breakdown, his dad was coming home from a business trip early to surprise him and his brother. Little did the boy know, his dad was also bringing their family to ice-cream as a treat that night.
I knew this because His dad had told me ahead of time.
What’s cool is: Jesus knows everything ahead of time. He has not only seen your life but has crafted it with your best interests in mind. I guess that leaves zero worries for fear, but that’s a topic for a different day!
Questions to Ponder:
Do you ever act like the little kid who didn’t get his ice-cream? What was the last thing that caused this?
When was the last time you saw God change one of your “good” plans into His best plan?
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