It’s All Part Of The Plan:
I want you to stop where you are and look around. Right where you stand, right where you sit, is this moment in time where you thought you’d be? I’ve been taking a moment to think about my life and reflecting the path I’ve taken to lead me to this moment. While I would like to say it’s been smooth, I’d be lying. I think we can all agree there is no such thing as a smooth life. While I myself do not prescribe to complete pre-destination, I believe that God will continue to move pieces around the chess bored to maneuver us to where He wants us. For the vast majority of my life I’ve run from a calling, and it wasn’t till recently I have felt as if God smacked me in the back of my head and said ‘Okay, it’s time.’ As I have spent years in the same career when that came to an abrupt end a few weeks ago, I had to accept that my time as a security officer had ended.
I watched my career implode when I ruptured a disc in my back. 9 months later I found myself back to work in what seemed to be a perfect type of position for me. 3 weeks later due to government oversight that posting was dissolved. Just like that the laid plans that took months to bare any fruit, where whisked away in a short but powerful hurricane. Left standing in the destruction I looked to the sky and asked, “Okay God, what next?” I never expected to get an answer so fast, but I can’t say I didn’t ask for it, and I can’t say I’m overly surprised. I think what shocks me most is my willingness to acquiesce to God’s plan over my own.
Who are we without Christ? We wake up at whatever time, we get ready for work, and we go to a job every day, or most days for most people, and we are either good at what we do, bad at what we do, or just don’t care to put forth the effort in what we do. For some people their careers are everything to them, and for others, it’s just an annoyance they put up with day in and day out to make money to pay the bills. While work is not everyone’s cup of tea, we all have something we enjoy doing. Whatever that is, and I’ll allow you to fill in the blank, we all, no matter how big or small, have at least that one thing that brings us great joy. For some people it’s a hobby, others it’s their pets, some it’s work, and others it’s being on fire for God in ministry and missions. While I don’t often get to talk to full time missionaries, I do get to talk to those who go on mission trips on a regular basis, i.e. once a year or so. The reports to the church on how the other half of the world lives are usually similar in nature, they have next to nothing, and yet they are happy. We have an abundance of wealth in our society and yet we are some of the most pitifully miserable people on the planet. Those who say money buys happiness obviously hasn’t taken a good hard look at the United States mental health reports. So when we look at the abundance of wealth we have, and the lavish lifestyle we live (even our poverty) lives better then many countries I’ve been too. We see disparity within our country when it comes to joy with most other countries around the world. We are truly missing one main ingredient, and that’s Jesus Christ.
When we are following Christ we find that we move from one thing to the next with more ease and less worry then those who are unbelievers. (Not a black and white statement) I am reminded of the statement by Paul, and I’ll paraphrase, In all situations I find myself, content. This is a man who if any had reason to complain, it was him. Few people go through so many hardships as Paul, except maybe Job, but he kept moving forward no matter how hard the road, no matter the obstacles in front of him, he moved forward with grace and dignity. Remind you, Paul was a sinner just like the rest of us. Paul would have faced the same draws from the sins of the flesh, the pull of a fallen world, and the human faults that plague each and every one of us, but he knew he was a sinner. Paul on more then one occasion responded to attacks by saying he was no one. He would tell people he is nothing without God, and Jesus Christ is truth and Jesus Christ alone is truth. Where Paul went he was met with hostility, anger, hatred, and even physical violence, but everywhere he went was ‘All Part Of The Plan’.
When we follow scripture and we allow ourselves to give in to it, we will be moved and used by God in ways we never thought possible. When we are seeking the Lord and we try to have that relationship with our Abba (father) we will be amazed how drastically different our life will be, how bright it is, when we finally open ourselves to God, and force our selfish need to be in control away. We will go through life trying to do things our way, but often in our feeble attempts to do things right, we usually find ourselves in dire situations often because of our own sinful decisions. When I was watching The Dark Knight a few years back I was amazed at how well written Heath Ledgers Joker was. Each scene he was in was a small masterpiece in the grand scheme of the movie. The Joker in the movie falls in the category of an Anarchist. What’s an anarchist, “a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups” The Joker tells Dent he isn’t a man with a plan. He tells him he’s a dog chasing a car, and he wouldn’t know what to do with it if he ever caught one. “Upset the established order and everything becomes chaos.”(Dark Knight Rises)The Devil means to upset order, and as seen in the Garden, he’s been doing it for some time now.
How do we ensure we continue to follow God’s plan? First and foremost you must have a relationship with God. You must study scripture to the point where you have it in your heart and in your head every day. You must understand the word of God to prepare for the day when you will be attacked on the battlefield. We must study scripture day and night. We must get to the point where our actions are instinct and we no longer have to put hours of study into what to do in different situations. We must have a relationship with God that gives us a level of intimacy with scripture, and not just a passing understanding of it. We must focus on that relationship with Jesus Christ, and while we are doing that, our path will be made clear as seen in scripture. Psalm 25:4-5 “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.” Start with learning scripture and God’s ways. Learn behavior which is acceptable and that which is not. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” We must allow ourselves to subside so we may submit in every way to the Lord. To do this requires us to trust in God for every last bit of our lives. Not only trusting in the Lord with the big stuff which most people turn to God for prayer, but also the smallest details in our life, and to be thankful and appreciative of our vast number of blessings which come from our Heavenly Father. Psalm 32:8“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” God will never put you on a path alone. God will never give you the keys to the car without first teaching you how to drive it. God will always give you what you need, when you need it. We are to be the hands and feet, and we are to work hard for everything we do, but God always rewards hard work and self sacrifice.
While the Joker is an agent of chaos and we often feel like our lives are chaos, I submit to you, that we are actually following the path laid in front of us by either our own sinful selves, or we’ve taken the bait and followed the path of the first agent of chaos, Lucifer. If we glance at the instruction manual and have an in passing familiarization of the design, when we get done building, will we have pieces left over? The instructions are there for a reason and just like my Lego sets I often build, if I miss even the smallest step on page 4, it could have vast problems by page 34. We must be careful to read every word, study and understand it so when the day comes for temptation to creep in on page 36, you will be ready for it. You’ll know that’s not apart of the plan, and you’ll know how to manage that day. “Yea you know, you really should have stolen the whole book because the warnings, the warnings come after the spells.”(Dr. Strange) The warnings about sin don’t just come at the end of the Bible, but throughout the whole thing. We have no excuse to expect Hell, when we live our lives according to our own plans and desires. Much like Kaecilius failed to realize the depth of what he was reading and getting into. “Eternal life as part of the one, you’re not going to like it.” (Dr. Strange) Instead of thinking of it as the one, God, instead think of it as eternal life with the one agent of chaos and destruction, the Devil. I believe so many people follow such a path that they feel works, or being good enough, or even whatever other faith they may follow, I hope in the end it’ll be worth it. I feel a bit like Dr. Strange, “you got what you wanted, but you’re not going to like it.”
We may not know what the plan is for us, but if we are patient and faithful to the Lord it will be made clear when all the pieces on the board are in the right place. We will always have a choice which way we want to go, we can be agents of chaos, or we can be agents of order. Jesus Christ is the only order you will ever need to be apart of. No matter what path God has you on based on the gifts He gave you, be patient, be trusting, and be willing to allow yourself to be the hands and feet of God. God will never ‘need’ you, but if he chooses to use you, believe me, it’s better to give in, then to fight. You can fight tooth and nail but if you want to find your happiness and contentment, go with God’s plan sooner rather then later. It’ll save you years of headaches. So get out there and make a difference.
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The Arrow Preacher 