THE LORD DIRECTS THE STEPS

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16: 9

We always make plans, but God has his own ways for us. It is not a sin to plan for the future, tomorrow or even next year, but you just can not forget that God can change your plans at any time, for He is in control of your life!

The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "I know that the life of a man is not his; it is not for man to turn his steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). This is called 'divine providence'. And even when bad things happen in our lives, God can use those situations for our good, if we trust in Him. Look at what the apostle Paul said:

"We know that God works in all things for good to those who love him, to those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

But the good that God promises us will not be fully realized until we go to heaven. We can even look at some things in our lives and think, "What happened in the past was bad, but today I can see something good." However, there are other things we will never see on the bright side (at least not the way we understand it).

Therefore, we need to believe that God loves us and cares for us just as a father loves his child. We see the "now," but God sees in the long run. What we understand today as good, can be harmful in the future; and what we think is bad today can be good up there because God always uses situations to fulfill His purposes in our lives.

God bless you.

Pastor Antônio Júnior