“And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.” – Ezra 6:22 (NKJV)
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” – Proverbs 21:1 (NKJV)
At the start of my junior year of college, I began to seek the Lord about what my post-grad steps should be. When He revealed a graduate program to me, I applied with confidence that I would certainly be admitted because this was God’s will. Subsequently, I was rejected twice.
After the second time, I began to consider other options but the Holy Spirit quickly convicted me. Was this not doubt? The Lord had made His instructions clear to me but I was willing to let academic directors — human beings — block my path.
How often do we do this? We encounter obstacles in our pursuit of God’s will and suddenly, we accept defeat as if God is incapable of removing them.
We have to do a better job of trusting God in the face of opposition. One way to do this is to hold on to biblical truths. In the Ezra and Proverbs references above, we see that God can influence the decision-making process and result of any individual or group (believer or not) to align with His will.
Moreover, Isaiah 55:11 confirms that what God says will be, certainly will be. His counsel is immutable. (Hebrews 6:13-18) There is not a single being in the universe that can prevent it.
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. – Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)
It is important to meditate on these scriptures and continuously encourage yourself with the word of God throughout your journey on earth. As you do this, you replace seeds of doubt with seeds of faith and total trust in God.
PRAYER: Lord, I repent of any way in which I have doubted you. I pray that you would forgive me and help me to accept your word as truth regardless of what is happening around me, in Jesus’ name, Amen.