Planning and Building Alliances

Are you making plans without God in mind, or relying too much on alliances with others for success?

Making plans and working with others are good, but without God in mind, the results can be fruitless. The following verses tell you the consequence of not following 'In God We Trust'.

Isaiah 30:1 (NAS)
"Woe to the rebellious children," declares the LORD, "Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;

Isaiah 30:9 (NAS)
For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD;

Isaiah 30:12-13 (NAS)
Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "Since you have rejected this word And have put your trust in oppression and guile, and have relied on them, Therefore this iniquity will be to you Like a breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,

Isaiah 30:15-16 (NAS)
For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength." But you were not willing, And you said, "No, for we will flee on horses, "Therefore you shall flee! "And we will ride on swift horses," Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

Isaiah 31:1-2 (NAS)
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the help of the workers of iniquity.

Isaiah 31:4 (NAS)
For thus says the LORD to me, "As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, Against which a band of shepherds is called out, And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, So will the LORD of hosts come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill."

Isaiah 31:6 (NAS)
Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel.

Overworked

The past three weeks have been hell on earth!

Ever since I was transferred to the new department at my workplace, I am constantly faced with unrealistic deadlines and multitude of work piling up, waiting to be done. The routine is non-stop rushing, working doubly faster than fast, skipping lunch on occasions, with no time for a break or breather, nor time to drink a sip of water. People in this department are under watchful eyes all the time, and each of us are expected to give account of every minute spent at work.

My days for the next few months have been mapped out with the impossible, and I am not sure whether this may be an indication for me to move on. My thoughts are, since God has given me the talent for writing, and writing is not what this department really needs, is it time for me to seek green pastures or another place where the fields are white for harvest? I don't believe God has given me a talent, only to take it away from me, especially when I have just been given the opportunity to learn more about Writing Techniques for my new school term in this semester. Surely, I have better use of my skill than project coordination and data input, which in practice, do not mix very well with writing. On the other hand, I am not in a position to just quit without a job, because I am in need of the money.

Life is never smooth sailing, and jobs do not easily come by. Wonder what is the next step for me in God's plan.