We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. (Proverbs 16:9, The Message)
What do you expect this year to bring? Do you have any plans for your golf game? Could this be the year? I know, a lot of questions. My financial advisor tells me he knows what the stock market is going to do. He says, “It is going to fluctuate.” I hope 2016 fluctuates into the positive side as well.
In life and business and play and relationships, we all have expectations and plans. It is good to plan, but we must remember who the Master Planner is. I am personally planning to put together a Shutterfly book this year filled with images and stories of 2016 as they happen. I always love to look back and see the hand of God at work.
We need to trust Jesus until that day when we receive the new mansion and new body in a Home that will never break.Right now, I am continuing to pray for our neighbors in the communities of Garland and Rowlett, Texas, just a very few miles from where we live. Our part of Texas had just experienced a wonderful Christmas with unseasonably warm temperatures. We actually played golf in 75-degree weather on Christmas Eve. Everyone had plans for the holidays and the New Year. And then the unexpected happened on December 26 at 6:30 pm. The sirens screeched and the alarms went off on our cell phones at 6:20, warning of the impending disaster that was approaching our community. We all took shelter. And then, just after the sun went down, a Category 4 tornado blasted through our community with all its ugly fury. Hundreds of homes were leveled and many more experienced severe damage. Fifty-one homes of members of our church alone were completely destroyed. Completely destroyed! In its wake were fractured dreams and lives that would never be the same after losing so much.
Our pastor talked with one these families who are members at our church and lost everything. Their remarkable response: “We have lost everything, but we have everything we need.” What is that we really need?
A good friend from Houston just sent me a note of encouragement about his faith journey that started when we were together 25 years ago. The note said in part: “I answered His call on the driving range about 10 years ago. I thought my life would somehow be easier, but I could not have been more wrong. Life has gotten very tough. I’ve lost all my money, my father passed away, and my mom is very ill. I’ve spent more time in the hospital than out of it. I know, however, that these are all issues that will be rectified. Soon I will have a new mansion and a body and mind that will never break, and I will bask in His glory for eternity. Thanks Randy.”
All we really need is Jesus. When calamity and the unexpected happen, and we do not know the answers, our meditation should always be as Sarah Young says in her devotional Jesus Calling, “I want to learn a new habit. Try saying, ‘I trust You, Jesus,’ in response to whatever happens to you.” It may simply be the best way to deal with the unexpected that will surely come our way this year. We need to trust Jesus until that day when we receive the new mansion and new body in a Home that will never break. I do trust you, Jesus, with this truth. The sun will come out tomorrow.
—
Randy Wolff
Photos courtesy of Allen Jones
February 8, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.