Who Is Driving?

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20

With my car having brake issues and now in the shop, I was driving my daughter's car, which meant she was along for the ride with me. I took her to an activity and as she sat down and buckled the passenger side seatbelt she looked to me and exclaimed, "I don't like sitting over here, this feels weird!"
I responded quickly with, "Now you know how I feel when you drive me around in my own car." 

We both sat quietly for the rest of the drive. 

The next day as I was driving alone, the Lord brought the conversation with my daughter back to my remembrance and He said, "Now you know how I feel."  

In order to play the music He has arranged for you, you have to remember "you are not your own."

Let Him in the sit in the driver's seat.

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!"
1 Chronicles 16:8

Make A Joyful Noise

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." I Peter 4:10 (NKJV)

"For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
Romans 12:4-8 (NKJV)

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;" Ephesians 4:11-13 (NKJV)

One of your purposes in God's Orchestra is to edify, or build one another up, through the use of your instrument with your gifts. If you don't use yours, why not? Is there an area where you can serve? Can you pray about how/where to serve? Look around at the ministries in your local church, where can your gifts best be utilized.

Do you know what your gifts are? The Lord invites you to call upon Him.
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

He encourages His children to ask for good gifts.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 7:7-12 (NKJV).

When you know your gifts and how to use your instrument to edify one another, you are able to show Christ-likeness to one another.
"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)

And as a church, we will see the reality of God's word, "For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:27 (NKJV)

Once you see Him at work through you, the way you work for the Kingdom will never be the same.
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."
Colossians 3:23-24 (NKJV)

His Plan

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

In a previous post "Arrangement" I continued to try and define God's Orchestra using Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. From this definition, I could see the emphasis on the word 'plan,' so following the earlier notion, I replaced 'arrange' with 'plan' and I have God’s Plan.

Now, I really think we are getting somewhere, but can it really be this simple? Would I find the meaning of God’s Orchestra, His Plan, in the dictionary?

I looked up the definition of the word plan, a noun circa 1706, which has it’s etymology from French, plane, foundation, ground plan; partly from Latin planum level ground, from neuter of planus level; partly from French planter to plant, fix in place, from Late Latin plantare.

1 plan, 1 : a drawing or diagram drawn on a plane: as a : a top or horizontal view of an object b : a large-scale map of a small area

2 a : a method for achieving an end b : an often customary method of doing something : PROCEDURE c : a detailed formulation of a program of action d : GOAL, AIM

3 : an orderly arrangement of parts of an overall design or objective

4 : a detailed program (as for payment or the provision of some service)
- plan·less adjective
- plan·less·ly adverb
- plan·less·ness noun

Concerning the third definition, I noted 'plan' to be “an orderly arrangement of parts of an overall design or objective.” The word arrangement caught my attention as well as the word design.

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." I Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV)  God is an orderly God. So, I replaced plan with design and found God’s Design. 

He certainly is up to something and I am on the edge of my seat!