PLOW Ahead

Written by Julie Cosgrove

What would your life look like if you were completely available to God?

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1-4, ESV)

Abraham Lincoln said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” What is our responsibility as Christians? If we believe God is truly in control and it is better to yield our will to His, then we are to put our tomorrow and our today into His all-wise, all-knowing and loving hands. But, does that mean we should not plan for the future?

It is easy to slip into a carpe diem (live for today) attitude and lift our eyes heavenward saying, “God takes care of the lilies of the field, He will care of me.” There is great truth in that. Before that passage in Matthew 6 it says to not be anxious about anything in our lives. But, it ends with seeking His kingdom above all else. In other words, we are to actively seek, take action, and do our part.

I was watching the Christian movie Facing the Giants. A faith-filled man would go by the halls of this school every day and pray as he ran his hands along the lockers of the students. He told the coach he was plowing the field for these students’ future, praying that they would all come to know Jesus as their Lord. There were two farmers, he explained, who prayed for rain. But only one plowed the field in preparation for the rain to come. That was the farmer with more faith.

How can we prepare our fields in prayer? God may not always give us what we want, but He will always provide what we need. Our responsibility is to believe He will act. We need to PLOW:

P – Pray – through prayer we put it all back into God’s hands

L – Listen for His response. Too many times we turn our prayers into one-sided conversations. We hang up before we allow God to speak.

O – Observe the small ways He taps on you on the shoulder to remind you that He loves you, knows you needs and is working in your situation.

W ? Wait upon the Lord and do not give up hope.

The bridesmaids who prepared their lamps for the bridegroom were considered wise. They didn’t know when he was coming, but they knew that he would come. They stayed prepared. They knew their responsibility. It was the same one John the Baptizer called out- prepare ye the way of the Lord.

Heavenly Father, teach me how to rely on You but show me what I must do to prepare for the blessings You will bestow on me. In all things, good or bad, help me to give You the glory, to do my best at what is my responsibility to do right now, and to trust without reservation that You have plans to bring the rains in due season to bless my field. Help me plow in preparation with confidence. Through Jesus’ name – Amen.

Question: Are you willing to plow for as long as it takes to prepare for what blessing God will bring into your life?

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Bible, Devotional, God, Julie Cosgrove, listen, Matthew 25:1-4, pray, responsibility, Women

5 Responses to “PLOW Ahead”

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Doris says:

May 30, 2012 at 12:28 pm

Thank you to each of you that stopped by and left a comment. We are always encouraged to hear from our visitors.

Glad you enjoy the Thursday evening Devotional Chats as well Sue!
Hettie says:

May 24, 2012 at 11:04 pm

Wonderful inspirations from the Word of our Lord.
sue says:

May 24, 2012 at 5:25 pm

thanks again Julie for making me see that into each life some rain must fall, but, however, we must be ready. and we must plow thru things, I am in a position now where im trying to plow thru a mess in our family, but recently i laid it all on the alter,,, my lamp is full, and i thank God for that, but i pray for those whose lamp is empty and they live for only today, because,,,, what we sow , we reap,,,,,,,, Ty for your wonderful devos on Thursday night I think im your biggest fan….. lol
Joel Pukalo says:

May 24, 2012 at 11:20 am

Thanks for the inspiration Julie. We desperately need daily reminders to wait on the Lord and allow Him to fulfill his perfect plan in every area of our lives!
Luna says:

May 24, 2012 at 9:05 am

Thanks agains, Julie. It speaks to me again, as always. I read from your last devotional that your new book has been published. Congratulations, and may many be blessed by your writing.