Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez, Elder, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

" The Habits of Jesus Christ - Part 3 "

J esus had another good habit – the habit of consulting his Father. This third habit manifested his character of being an obedient son.

Jesus Always Consulted His Father

Jesus had the habit of consulting his Father through prayers. Although He is God himself, He never acted on his own. He always conferred through prayers with his Father in heaven.

Before Jesus chose his twelve apostles, He spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12-16, Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-4). At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus said “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me;” (John 11:41-42). Jesus prayed lengthily to his Father for his believers. (John 17:1-26).

Jesus always consulted his Father. He was following God's plan and doing his will. “I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” (John 6:38).

Jesus was obedient to his Father. “But the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.” (John 14:31).

God's Plan Stands Forever

Jesus followed the plan and did the will of his Father. Let us do the same – follow God's plan.

“The Lord foils the plan of nations, frustrates the designs of wise people. But the plan of the Lord stands forever, wise designs through all generations.” (Psalms 33:10-11).

The plan of God always stays. We cannot change God's plan; but He can change our plans. He can alter the plans of nations!

Submit Our Plans to God

Jesus had the habit of consulting his Father and submitting his plans to him. How about us? Do we bring our plans to the Lord or do we rely entirely on our own intelligence?

Let us submit our plans to God in order to be victorious. “Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3). Let us seek God's counsel and trust in the Lord.

As people of faith of The Lord's Flock, we must develop the habit of consulting the Lord before making decisions, big or small.

God asks us to submit always our plans to him. Let us surrender and yield to him. Let us learn to wait for his instructions.

God also wants us to seek his wisdom before we act on everything. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). God has promised to direct our path. When we consult the Lord, let us trust him and He will show us the way.

Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. For all our plans, let us have total dependence on the Holy Spirit. Let us rely and entrust everything on the Spirit.

The Right Attitude Towards Planning

What should be our attitude towards planning of our actions?

1. We should have an attitude of humility. Let us be humble; let us depend on God who is all knowing. Let us not believe too much on our own capabilities. “Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18).

2. We should have an attitude of obedience to God's command that we carefully study our plans.

• Consult the Bible and study biblical passages related to your plans.
• Check whether your plans conform with the word of God. Are they in accordance with God's laws?
• Evaluate your motives for your plans. Are your motives pure? What are your real goals or purposes?

3. We should adopt a discerning attitude.

• Evaluate (and journal) the daily events in your life. Find out if they touch you positively or negatively.
• Be sensitive to circumstances. Discern if what is happening comes from God, from your own human spirit, or from the evil one.
• Listen carefully to God who speaks through the Bible (that serves as a road map with signs of direction and dangers), through people, and even through nature. God approves or disapproves our plans. He also warns of dangers to us.

4. We should have a thankful and yielding attitude .

• If your plans fit God's plans, be thankful to him.
• If they do not fit God's plans, do not insist – yield and withdraw your plans. Thank God just the same.

The Principles of Planning

For us to achieve our goal, let us observe the following principles of planning:

1. God makes the plan. Only God knows the whole plan. He is all knowing and ever present (Psalms 139). “The eyes of the Lord roam over the whole earth, to encourage those who are devoted to him wholeheartedly.” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

God is the greatest architect. He planned and created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1). He created man in his image. (verse 27). He planned to let man have dominion over all other creatures on earth. (verse 26). He planned with purpose and orderliness. God is a God of order.

Only the eternal God knows his whole plan and our future. We don't know God's plan; we don't know our future. “You have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.” (James 4:14). We are warned against presumptions about knowing our future. We cannot know our future! Let us humbly say “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.” (James 4:15).

2. God encourages and empowers us, his people, to plan. God created us in his image (Genesis 1:27), with consciousness of time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The events in our lives – past, present, and future – are all connected; cause and effect shape them.

3. Planning involves a value perspective. Planning is a valuable activity. We give values or priorities to our plans according to their degree of importance. Then we submit our plans to the Lord and obey his commands.

4. Effective planning involves more than one person. It requires counsel. “Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when counselors are many.” (Proverbs 15:22). We should be careful in choosing our planning counselors. (Sirach 37:10-11). We should heed anointed counselors even when their counsel does not conform to our desires.

5. Planning is a fragile process . We should be careful in planning. If we are not cautious, we might be endangered. We should beware of plans based on the weakness of the planner; in reality, such plans make us blind instead of guiding us. We should also avoid plans condemned by God (e.g. building the Tower of Babel – Genesis 11:1-9).

6. Planning and prayer should be related. When we make plans, we pray hard for their success. We ask the Lord to tell us what may happen to our plans. We listen to God and obey him.

7. Planning is based on faith. After being certain that our plans are in accordance with God's will and his word, we firmly believe that what we plan will happen. Then we wait expectantly. We have the faith that our plans will be realized as the Lord has promised. Nothing is impossible to God. (Luke 1:37). “All things are possible for God. ” (Mark 10:27).

8. Planning does not determine the future. Even with thorough planning, the future cannot be seen. The future is outside our grasp; only by faith can we see it. Only God knows what will happen.

Let us accept whether our plans are realized or not. If God does not give us what we ask in our plans, let us thank him just the same. God loves us and He knows what is best for us!