“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’”Isaiah 55:8 (NLT)
Have you ever faced a seemingly impossible challenge in your life? Something that couldn’t be solved without a miracle?
If you haven’t yet, you will. And when that time comes, you’ll have a choice. You can wait on God’s timing and his way. Or you can take matters into your own hands and try to make a miracle happen yourself.
But the truth is that miracles don’t come from the places you expect them. And they don’t come as a result of your own effort. The source of a miracle is always unexpected.
Take Abraham, for example. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son, and that the son would be the father of a great nation. Abraham was nearly 100 years old, and he and his wife had no children. It would take a miracle to make it happen.
But Abraham had trouble believing God’s promise, and he didn’t wait on God to work a miracle. Instead, he took matters into his own hands and had a child with a woman who wasn’t his wife.
That wasn’t God’s plan. God’s plan had been to work a miracle in Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Abraham’s solution was inferior to God’s.
The same is true for you. Your way of making things happen is always second best—God’s way is best.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s plan. In fact, if you could always understand God, you would be God. But you’re not! Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine’” (NLT).
Miracles always come in unexpected ways. So there’s no need to fret, fear, or try to figure it out.
Trust God and say, “I don’t know how God is going to do it, but I know he will do it.”
Then simply obey and follow where God leads. And get ready for a miracle.
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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