God's Ways Are Outside The Box

[S] John 5:6-8 --

⁶When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"

⁷The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me."

⁸Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk."

[O] I'm a firm believer that one of the key reasons God cannot work in and through our lives is because of our own fixed perspectives on what the solution should be. Instead of opening up the solution to God, we cling on to what our society or circumstances tell us as the ultimate solution and pursue them with all of our lives (at least it seems so). As we see in this passage, this paralytic had it all figured out -- only if he could be the first to enter the pool upon water stirring, he would be healed. However he also knew that was impossible to do with so many others who are more able than he was to jump in the pool first. So, in his mind, the solution is for him to find a way to get in there before others and thus when Jesus asked whether he wanted to get well, he quickly gave out his solution to Him almost asking Him to make that happen.

How many times have I done the same doing ministry or even making an important decision in my life? I think, plan, and design my own implementation strategy and when God asks me how He could help me to walk along my journey I'm so quick to rattle off how He could make plans come true by doing this and that. God's plans are obviously bigger than my limited mind (Isaiah 55:9) and I need to learn to submit to it by surrendering my own plans and thoughts first. Only when I let go God's wonderful plan will manifest in my life.

[A] It's good to have my own dreams in life, but whenever I face God, I must surrender them to Him because His ways/thoughts are much higher than my ways/thoughts. Only when I release my own limited plans, then I can attain the plans of God in my life.

[P] Dear God, I want to learn more about leaning and surrendering to Your solutions for my life. I lay down my intellects and knowledge before You in order to attain Your ways which are far greater than mine. In Jesus' name. Amen.