March 23, 2021: God’s To-Do List
“I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” (Isa. 65:24, NLT).
It wasn’t until I became a teaching principal that Isaiah’s words took root in my soul. Oftentimes, I found myself conversing with God about school and the myriad of situations I had no idea how to solve. Each time my staff, the school board and I found a solution, we were reminded yet again of how faithful He was (and is) to His children.
As we continued to bring our seemingly endless petitions to God, I began to envision each of our needs as items on an enormous to-do list. None of the requests we made were news to Him. Over time, it became clear to me that every new item we added, and subsequently checked off, He had long ago checked off His own list. As I began to reflect on my life, I saw how He had been working things out long before I knew what to ask for.
That is when I realized this verse had taken root—deep root—within my soul. As He revealed His answers, I started referring to this text without noticing. These words were no longer just letters in an obscure text; they were a living promise. I could look back at the evidence and see it so clearly.
My prayers began to change from, “Lord, how will I ever solve this?” to “Father, thank You for having checked this off Your to-do list long ago. May my eyes be open to see the answer You have already provided.” I finally understood that my only job was to trust Him and follow His lead.
God, thank You for solving my problems before I even ask. Amen.
Janet Armstrong is the associate superintendent of education for the Potomac Conference.
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