We are reminded daily that we are not in charge.
This week, I have had nearly a dozen conversations with people that have in some way pointed out that plans made did not happen. Things thought certain turned out to be illusory. Decisions that seemed to be no-brainers turned out to be wrong. As one person said it, "Nothing here seems to be going according to plan." Even my devotions sounded this note during the week.
That should not be a new discovery for us, but an acknowledgement of settled reality. Oh, I don't mean that there isn't a plan that is being carried out. It's just not yours, or mine. Does that bother you? Why? After all, it's been the truth as long as we've been alive.
The longer I live, the more I realize that the moments when my plans for me and others come to fruition are more happy exceptions than a regular rule. How many times have I envisioned the way a conversation should go, only to have it not go that way? How often have I thought that things should work out a certain way for me or those around me, only to have them be different? Would anybody really think that I'd create a plan where I'd live in Ohio and my married kids and grandchildren would be all over the country? No way.
Yes, I can decide to go to the store, and then go. Even then, however, I'm warned to take an "if the Lord wills" approach to those details. And that's a clue to the greater reality we must see. There is a master planner, and it is not any of us.
We live in a God-created world where everything follows the Creator's plan. And it is set: look at Isaiah 46:8-10
That should not be a new discovery for us, but an acknowledgement of settled reality. Oh, I don't mean that there isn't a plan that is being carried out. It's just not yours, or mine. Does that bother you? Why? After all, it's been the truth as long as we've been alive.
The longer I live, the more I realize that the moments when my plans for me and others come to fruition are more happy exceptions than a regular rule. How many times have I envisioned the way a conversation should go, only to have it not go that way? How often have I thought that things should work out a certain way for me or those around me, only to have them be different? Would anybody really think that I'd create a plan where I'd live in Ohio and my married kids and grandchildren would be all over the country? No way.
Yes, I can decide to go to the store, and then go. Even then, however, I'm warned to take an "if the Lord wills" approach to those details. And that's a clue to the greater reality we must see. There is a master planner, and it is not any of us.
We live in a God-created world where everything follows the Creator's plan. And it is set: look at Isaiah 46:8-10
“Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it."
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it."
That is just one passage of many that speak of God's directive power over his creation, including us. But that is not the only truth about his plan that we must hold on to, lest we go crazy with fear and doubt.
The second great truth is that the God who is all powerful is working things for his glory and the good of those he has redeemed. Even in the passage above he makes sure we recognize that his control points to the glory of his name. Consider also Isaiah 42:8:
I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols
And then that verse we glibly quote but don't dwell on its depths: Romans 8:28-30
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Taken together, these texts (along with many others) point us to three realities:
1. God is in control of everything, not us.
2. God's plan lines up with his character of holiness and love, bringing him the glory he is due as God.
3. The people who have been called by God into his family (and become those who love God) can be sure that all things are working out what God knows is good for us.
The fact that I'm not in charge of things should become great news. After all, the One who is in charge came up with the plan of redeeming sinners through the death of his Son and making us righteous by faith alone. If he can do that, then I can rest in knowing the rest of his plans are equally good.
However, it's tough to live in that reality when things go badly, or what we perceive as badly. We don't get the job, our relationship falls apart, a loved one gets very sick. These aren't good circumstances, and they will be our lot in a world still marred by sin. And we face the sinful choices of others (that God's plan includes--even when we can't figure out how such freedom to defy him can be harmonized with his control) that bring pain and suffering--these are not good things.
But all of the bad that we acknowledge is not outside his directive plan, and will yield ultimately good results for us and glorious results for the name of God, even when he exercises judgment over his enemies; this glorifies his justice.
This is where faith comes in. We must believe what we know to be true. God's control is always good for us. My thinking that things are bad may be true about the circumstances, but not about the outcome. And it's really, really good that you and I are not ultimately in charge of our lives. I've made enough wrong moves in my life to know that I don't get things right all the time, and I don't want to imagine what my life would be if my failures were fatal on my own, instead of tools in a good Father's plan for me!
"A person's heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps."--Proverbs 16:9
I taught Christine a song from that verse, and it's what I hold onto now and I seek to make the decisions in front of me. You can, too!
1. God is in control of everything, not us.
2. God's plan lines up with his character of holiness and love, bringing him the glory he is due as God.
3. The people who have been called by God into his family (and become those who love God) can be sure that all things are working out what God knows is good for us.
The fact that I'm not in charge of things should become great news. After all, the One who is in charge came up with the plan of redeeming sinners through the death of his Son and making us righteous by faith alone. If he can do that, then I can rest in knowing the rest of his plans are equally good.
However, it's tough to live in that reality when things go badly, or what we perceive as badly. We don't get the job, our relationship falls apart, a loved one gets very sick. These aren't good circumstances, and they will be our lot in a world still marred by sin. And we face the sinful choices of others (that God's plan includes--even when we can't figure out how such freedom to defy him can be harmonized with his control) that bring pain and suffering--these are not good things.
But all of the bad that we acknowledge is not outside his directive plan, and will yield ultimately good results for us and glorious results for the name of God, even when he exercises judgment over his enemies; this glorifies his justice.
This is where faith comes in. We must believe what we know to be true. God's control is always good for us. My thinking that things are bad may be true about the circumstances, but not about the outcome. And it's really, really good that you and I are not ultimately in charge of our lives. I've made enough wrong moves in my life to know that I don't get things right all the time, and I don't want to imagine what my life would be if my failures were fatal on my own, instead of tools in a good Father's plan for me!
"A person's heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps."--Proverbs 16:9
I taught Christine a song from that verse, and it's what I hold onto now and I seek to make the decisions in front of me. You can, too!
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