Whose Plan Are You On???

As Christians we believe in God's will - and trust that because He knew every one of us before we were born then He also has a Perfect Plan for our lives.

But sometimes no matter how hard we try life throws us a curve ball, whether it's a situation involving finances, relationship issues, a sudden death or illness, which might lead us to start wondering why God's plan isn't proceeding as exactly and as smoothly as we expected. Did God really intend for my marriage to fall apart? Did God really intend for me to suddenly lose my job? Why couldn't God have made my car swerve and avoid t-boning that minivan?

The problem is we might be thinking of God's Perfect Plan as a kind of "schedule" for our lives - an agenda we sometimes wish we could print out and keep folded in pocket to consult along the way - so we could completely avoid making hard decisions ... and possibly even some mistakes.

Nobody enjoys making mistakes, so we tend to imagine God as the Supreme travel agent, our almighty "friend in the business" whose only concern (once we've agreed to "give Him our business") is handling all of life's arrangements so we're left free to enjoy a totally hassle-free straight-line journey from Point A in this world ... all the way to Point B in Heaven.

Some of us go so far as to act in our dating lives as though God's Plan promises us reservations at The Perfect Marriage And Relationship Restaurant ... and all we have to do is sit down and wait for our main course to arrive at the table so we can dive right in.

Making basic decisions (Where should I work? Who should I date? Where should I live?) based on the notion that all we have to do is wait for God to run ahead and pick up all the sharp objects from our paths - and then hold the door to the future open for us - starts sounding awfully self-centered ... and very legalistic.

Instead of being spiritual spectators our faith should give us the strength, courage and enthusiasm to get up from the bleachers and become involved on the playing field by making hard decisions, by moving forward and acting on the direction God has given us. I believe God expects us to be challenging, dynamic and interactive ... not only in sharing our faith but also in how we make decisions and choices affecting our lives - as part of our witness to others.

If we live as though God's Plan means all we have to do is sit back and wait for God to show up in the driveway Monday morning to chauffeur us to The Perfect Career, that He will work a deal with the bank to fix our bad credit or finance that new house, or that He will FedEx the Perfect Partner directly to the altar, then I think maybe we're pursuing our own agendas more closely than we're seeking His Plan.

Maybe facing obstacles and emotional hardships is actually part of God's plan ... because confronting an overwhelming situation can have only two possible outcomes: Either we endure through Faith and know that God really is in control no matter what; Or we come to doubt God's plan and fall back on our own schemes ... and miss out completely on the abundance God promised.