Following God's plan for division

Earlier this week I learned of some division going on in a local church.  There is much mourning, strife, and concern among all its members and attendants about the changes or lack of being made.  After discussing this with friends, I came home and got to work on my Bible in a Year assignment. ( I am 2 months behind! YIKES!)

My passage that day was about two kings and the division of Israel.  One faction wanted a lesser burden placed up on them, and the other refused - even though wise council advised lightening the load.  The entire chapter, 1 Kings 12, reminded me of this local church's struggles.  But it was God's will to divide the Israelis under these kings.  He wanted a division among them to fulfill another one of his purposes/plans. 

All of this got me thinking about our personal situations.  Have you ever had a friend drift away?  Or a parent/sibling/family member cut themselves out of your life?  Or have you had someone close to you that just continued to make wrong decision after wrong decision and you knew you just had to take a step back?  I found comfort in knowing that some of these are God's will.  He has something else planned for us, or for them, that cannot be completed without the division.  So if you are struggling with this type of situation, take comfort.  God is with you!  "'For I know the plans I have for you,'says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11.  God has a plan for you.  We don't always know the plan, but if we search our pasts we can see how certain paths that were difficult to take/follow at the time have led us to exactly the right place!

Thanking God for the separations he has blessed me with,
M