God’s Plans
Proverbs 19:21
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
I am a woman of action, a woman who gets things done. It is not in me to do nothing - my DNA is NOT coded that way. I am a planner!
If a situation arises that requires synchronized, precise timing and execution - then I need to plan. This character trait frustrates my husband because he is the opposite. He LIVES by adaptation, moment-to-moment, with the most chill personality of anyone I know. Well, I too can adapt…but only from a well-plotted plan!
There is a Yiddish proverb that says man plans, and God laughs.
I can testify to the truth of that statement!
I have a daughter, and the older she gets, the more I realize that I am raising ME. I know me, and the fact there is another - my mini - is terrifying! I’m sure God is laughing.
I should have been a lawyer. I live to argue and win. But instead, I am a high school teacher. Have you ever tried to argue with a teenager? Yeah - God’s laughing.
My husband, when we first were married, was pursuing a career in education intending to become a principal at a Christian school. Within a month or two after our wedding, he informed me he was called to ministry instead. I am now a pastor’s wife - and God is most definitely laughing!
I had ZERO plans for church leadership of any kind, but ended up on our church board first as Secretary for many years, and then as Head Lay Leader for a few more. Then, God started pushing me to lead a women's Bible study, and I resisted for a long time. As long as I could. I then surrendered (but also kind of hoped it would fail and be His fault for picking me to start it). Now the little Bible study I started is coming up on its third anniversary, has grown, has led to a second Bible study, and has harvested several new leaders among the women. God is not just laughing at this - he is guffawing, snorting, and crying his eyes out while feeling debilitating abdominal pain as the giggles consume Him.
All I can do is shake my head and sigh.
Jeremiah 29:11
“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.”
God has plans FOR us that are the BEST for us. Quite often those plans are scary, hard, complicated, or __________ (fill in the blank), and so we go the way of Jonah and run. We refuse to follow God’s plan for us. We refuse to listen when He calls.
We plan and God laughs, but too often, God plans and WE “laugh.”
God is calling us to attend church, and we refuse. God is calling us to ministry according to our talents, and we don’t step up. God is calling us to repentance, but sin feels so good that we continue to do it. God is calling us, and we turn our phones to silent.
Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” God has a plan, and we need to be on the right side of that plan. When God calls you - LISTEN! Don’t be afraid. Don’t be lazy. Don’t run away! He is calling you for His purpose!
Esther was given the same warning by Mordecai when she didn’t want to go to the king to save her people because she feared execution. Mordecai wanted Esther, as queen, to go to the king and beg for the Jew’s lives after a law had been passed that called for their total annihilation. Esther’s answer was everyone knows that only those the king sends for can approach him, and if someone approaches the king without being sent for, the punishment is death.
Their only hope would be if the king held out his scepter to them and forgave their transgression. Mordecai’s answer to her refusal was direct and harsh. “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:12-14).
God’s plans WILL prevail, whether or not we are a part of them. So, if YOU want to be on the right side of God’s plans, first - turn your phone back on! Turn it on the loudest setting so you can hear God calling. Then, use OODA - a 4-step approach to decision-making: Observe, orient, decide, and act.
Observe: Reflect on where you are now (spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc.)
Orient: Pray about what God wants you to do in all geographies of your life beginning with spiritually.
Decide: With God, come up with a plan, and then network with the people who need to be a part of that plan (Pastors, fellow Christians, spouses, children, boss, friends, etc.).
Act: The hardest part of any journey is the first step - take it! God is with you!
Be on the right side of God’s plans - be like Jesus. He was called to give His life to save us, and even though He was scared when the time came for Him to be betrayed, He followed God’s plan. And because He did, we have been redeemed!
AMEN.
