Imagine Heaven Sample

The mind of the Lord
By Mark Hayes, President of Ministry

“And it came to me then that every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time.” These song lyrics were written from the perspective of someone experiencing their final moments of life in a hospital bed. Her beautiful plans of having a family, making an impact in the world, and living to a ripe old age were cut short by an unexpected illness. 

If we were writing those song lyrics, we would name God instead of addressing an obscurity like “Father Time,” but we might take the same secular approach to the decisions that God makes. Feeling cheated of the lives that we had envisioned for ourselves or a loved one, in the same situation, we would ask God “Why?” or claim “Unfair.”

And even now as I write this, we are several months into a worldwide pandemic, we question God’s control and intentions when we see an unruly unemployment rate, a rising death toll, and a constant sense of discomfort just by being around other people.

Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been the Lord’s counselor? No one, of course. Although we may not know the mind of the Lord, we do know his heart. He unfolded for us the master plan that He put in place the moment His perfect world was tainted with sin.  

He promised a Savior, predicted the arrival and death of His own Son, and carried out every detail to precision—the life of Jesus in place of our own. He sacrificed His Son to bring us close to Him and to prepare an eternity for us in Heaven with Him. 

The heart of the Lord gives us insight into the mind of the Lord. If He gave up everything to save us, we can be sure that He has a reason for everything we are facing now.  Like a sculptor who turns a piece of rock into a beautiful image, God shapes our rocky life circumstances into something amazing, even if it wasn’t what we planned. 

Prayer: Dear Father, forgive me for the times when I question your power or even your motives. Let the cross of Jesus continually remind me of your deep love for me in the middle of life’s changing circumstances. Amen.