God Has Plans

26“Have you not heard?

Long ago I ordained it.

In days of old I planned it;

now I have brought it to pass,

that you have turned fortified cities

into piles of stone.

27Their people, drained of power,

are dismayed and put to shame.

They are like plants in the field,

like tender green shoots,

like grass sprouting on the roof,

scorched ^d before it grows up.

28“But I know where you are

and when you come and go

and how you rage against me.

29Because you rage against me

and because your insolence has reached my ears,

I will put my hook in your nose

and my bit in your mouth,

and I will make you return

     by the way you came.   Isaiah 37:26-29
Hezekiah laid out the threat of the King of Assyria sent to him before the Lord and prayed for God to deliver Jerusalem. Through Isaiah the prophet, God sent his reply. The cities that the King of Assyria had overthrown were in God's plan, Jerusalem was not. God tells King Hezekiah that the King of Assyria will not enter Jerusalem and will not even shoot one arrow in the city. God is sovereign and it was already in his plan. God did not like the King of Assyria's insolence and 185,00 of his troops were killed overnight. The next morning the King of Assyria returned to Nineveh and two of his sons killed him. What I read here is once again God is sovereign and people go no further than God allows. He protects his people Israel as in this case without them lifting a finger. They prayed and sought the Lord's direction and God delivered them. I think that will be our deliverance also, as we pray and humble ourselves turn from our wicked ways then God will heal our land us as he promises in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Over and over we see the sovereignty of God. What happens is in his plan of old.  I see in this that we do need to consult God in our plans. Plans made without God can fail. God knows the future.  To me, this could have been written of President Trump's election. It was doom and gloom on the other side. No way will Trump be president, it is not going to happen, but it did. It was in a sovereign God's plan. Hezekiah was a good king that sought God in his plans. What should I do God he askes when threatened. I believe that is what God expects of us Christians today, to consult God for direction. In this case, God just says I will do this myself. God strikes dead 185,000 of the Assyrian army. He puts a hook in his nose and takes him back to the way they came. That is what I need in my life, to seek God in my plans. That is what we need in this country, to seek God once again. This nation needs to return to our beginning and seek God's direction once again. We use to pray in our schools and ask for God to bless our teachers and our students. We have taken God out of our plans and wonder why so many shootings. Evil has always been present, but God can deliver if we will ask. Are we asking, are we seeking God. Do we trust in our own resources? We want to see the shootings stop, are we willing to ask God to direct us and to help us? Praying is not a copout, praying and asking God's direction is the foundation for the next step, whatever that is? Guide us in our next step, how to proceed forward.  Praying is like calling 911 when we are in trouble. God is like the first responder that comes to attend to the need. We don't earn any points for calling 911, we did not save the day, the first responder did. Here is another thought, yes we call the fire department when the house is on fire. But would it have been better to attend to a problem before the fire started? To fix a faulty piece of equipment before the fire started. Isn't that what we do when we invoke God's help in our plans. God help us in this nation as we move forward. Help us in this next election to vote people into office that will want to fix problems instead of trying to impeach a President that is solving problems. How much more could be accomplished if we had people in congress that were willing to work together instead of fight the opposite party. We need God's help in our plans. that is what I am reading in this verse. God, we need your help and your direction to move forward. Let us continue to seek God for our nation, our families, our city, our home.  Let us layout before God what is happening and ask for God's help. Hezekiah laid out the threatening letter before God and asked, what should we do? Let us layout out issues before God and ask, what should we do? Consulting God first is a good plan. God bless, LVZ.