When Our Plans Go Awry

     Back in January, I had successful partial replacement of my left knee.  I completed therapy just before the COVID lockdown.  In fact, I had the surgery so I could be ready for a cruise we planned to take with our daughter and her family in March.  Thankfully, we were able to get a refund on our cancelled cruise, and we were so grateful we were not stuck on a ship somewhere in a port.  We certainly had made our plans carefully a full year in advance, but as we all know, things happen.

     Recently, while out on a walk, I started having a lot of pain in my post op knee requiring me to consult

my surgeon.  It seems I somehow injured the outside of the knee that had not been replaced.  Now I am faced with new problems and a need for a wise decision none of which was expected or planned.  Isn't it funny that life happens while we are making other plans?  The Bible even agrees with this.  Proverbs 16:9 tells us:  "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."  Then, in Proverbs 19:21, we read:  "Many plans are in a man's heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail."  Finally in Jeremiah 10:23 says:  "I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps."  There we have it.  The final say on the course of our lives is really not in our hands at all but in God's hands.

     Honestly, I cannot say why things happen the way they do.  We all wonder why this terrible virus was unleashed on the world.  What purpose could it possibly serve?  Or why did "so and so" have to die when they did?  There are many questions that we have no answers to even though we look high and low.  Yet, we have to remember several things.

     First, we live in a fallen world.  The once beautiful paradise that Adam and Even inhabited had no flaws, problems, or challenges.  They were created to care for the creatures and tend God's creation.  Both of them were the crown of all the Lord had made.  Then Satan entered the picture in the form of a snake and beguiled Eve painting her a picture of a God who was holding out on them and did not want them to have His wisdom.  We know the rest of the story.  Eve took the first bite of the forbidden fruit followed by Adam.  The ramifications of their actions have been with us ever since.  They were cast from the garden and told:  ....."cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:17c-19).  To the woman, God said she would bear children in pain.  All of this due to disobedience, and we, their children, inherit not only their sin nature but also the curse of a fallen creation.  Therefore, life is not going to be easy.  We will have difficulties in this world and Jesus affirmed that to us in His Word (John 16:33).  But...the promise is that Jesus Christ will come again, and those who belong to Him will live with Him in a new heaven and a new earth with no more weeping, heartache and loss.

     Secondly, we often cannot see the bigger picture of what God is doing when trials come our way.  We see as "through a glass darkly" (I Corinthians 13:12) like the Apostle Paul said.  We only know in part what God is doing.  He hasn't told us everything.  Instead, we are to trust in Him who is the Sovereign over all the earth.  He is "working all things together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28).  We may not be able to see it yet, but this is what faith is all about "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).  Let me illustrate.

     When I work on embroidery, I am looking at the top of my work where I make different types of stitches to paint a picture with thread.  As I work, the picture emerges and looks beautiful.  However, if we examine the bottom side of my creation, all we see is knots, and threads that don't resemble any lovely picture.  We, as God's creation, see life like that from the bottom side of the work.  We don't have the Lord's perspective.  What looks like a knot to us may be a beautiful beginning in God's plan.  This is why we are called to trust the Master artist of our lives.

     Finally, we must remember that the life we have been given was for the purpose of God's glory not ours.  I think that is the hardest part for the self centered sin nature we are born with in this life.  It's not about us....it's all about God!  The first question of the Catechism says:  "What is the chief end of man?" (Westminster Catechism).  Answer:  "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever."  With this in mind, we can accept the plan changes, fast detours, sudden stops and inconveniences that come with this journey here.  God is preparing us for an eternity with Him in heaven where our citizenship lies.  This is not our home for we are passing through needing the daily guidance of the Holy Spirit.  So, if your plans, like mine, go awry, remember that He is putting together a great masterpiece which we simply cannot see yet.  We must trust Him just as Jeremiah said in one of my favorite verses 29:11:  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Selah!

Adapting Our Message Without Compromising

          One of the things we all have to learn in life is how to adapt gracefully to change.  As we all know, nothing stays the same forever.  I remember finding a Bible that my grandfather wrote in one Christmas long ago.  He told of how happy he was that the entire family was gathered together and wished that it could be this way forever.  How many of us have felt the same way when we are enjoying a special time?  Yet, sadly, we cannot stop the march of time.

Children grow up and begin their own journeys.  Friends move away or change in such a way that we hardly know them any more.  However, I love the attitude of the Apostle Paul.

 

     In his letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul writes in I Corinthians 9:19-23:  “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.  To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews.  To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.  To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.  To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.  I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

 

     Within this passage, we see a man who has learned to adapt himself but not compromise himself.  This is how we face change in life.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to become “all things to all people” for the purpose of winning them to Christ…not manipulation or any other motive.  Paul was well aware that situations, circumstances and people are ever changing.  Nevertheless, he was able to adapt without giving in or compromising his values.  That is the key for us as well.

 

     What has happened throughout the church today is that many have learned to compromise their belief system in order to avoid making waves.  This has diluted the message of the gospel rather than strengthened it.   Paul, on the other hand, adapted his message and lifestyle without giving up the Christian worldview in the process.  He was able to converse with the weak, other Jews, and Gentiles to name a few.  His flexibility to change was the result of His trust in God to fill his mouth with the right words at the right time.

 

     One of the key things that I believe Paul understood was that no one can change another person by a direct action on our part.  We can really only change ourselves.  It is even impossible to do that outside of Christ!  However, with the Holy Spirit residing in us, we are more than capable of demonstrating love and the fruits of great character that we otherwise would have trouble modeling to others.

 

     This much we know.  Change is inevitable in life, but how we respond to it is not.  When we are walking by God’s Spirit, we are able to adapt rather than compromise our beliefs.  Let us strive to become all things to all people that we might win them without losing any of the godly principles upon which our life is built.  This will bring glory and honor to God as we live this way.  Selah!

 

     Father, never let us compromise our beliefs and become like the world.  You have called us to walk in this world but not be a part of it.  May we have the right words to say and the right actions as we share with others the Good News of Jesus Christ.  May we never compromise for the sake of political correctness, but give us strength to stand for the truth in the face of change.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Rule to Live By

     Has anyone else noticed how uncivil many discussions have become in these days?  Whether it is a hearing in Congress, postings on social media or even on interview programs, it seems people tend to throw caution out the window when talking to others.  What has happened to self control when sharing

an opinion in a gracious manner?  My mother frequently schooled me in the art of communicating with others telling me that it is better to talk with someone face to face than to write things in a letter.  Of

course, today, that goes for social media as well.  When we commit something to writing, we cannot easily take it back, or we can be misunderstood.  If we can see one another face to face, we can get the true intent of the words.  However, my mother also cautioned me to think before speaking because words can sting as surely as a bee.  Many good relationships have ended because of harsh words that we later have regretted.  All of this goes back to a heart issue.

     Jesus in talking with the Scribes and Pharisees spoke to them about the type of fruit produced in a life.  Matthew 12:33-37 says:  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.  You brood of vipers!  How can you speak good, when you are evil?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  What Jesus is conveying here is that even a slip of the tongue is not insignificant in light of God's holiness.  Our words to each other do matter.  It is from the heart that the mouth either speaks good or evil, and we are responsible for our words.  

     James wrote a good deal about the tongue in his letter to believers and how untamable it seems to be if not brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.  Here is his description of the tongue in James 3:6:  "And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell."  Then, in verses 8-10, he says:  "but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not be so."  Isn't this true?  There is not a one of us that have not struggled with what we say from time to time.  How is it that we can bless someone one moment and the next moment we can rip them to shreds with our words?  I guarantee that what we say can wound every bit as deep as a weapon.  Sometimes that wound can be fatal to a friendship.

     So, in this culture in which we live that is so concerned about "hate speech" and being politically correct, I have to ask if we are more concerned about what man thinks or about what God thinks?  Can our mouths be used as instruments of praise on a Sunday and then used  to curse our neighbor who took a parking spot we wanted on Monday?  Can we justify the use of curse words in talking to someone who is made in the likeness of God as James says?  We need to evaluate this in our own lives.  James tells us that we cannot tame the tongue, but if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He can bring us the self control we need to hold back from saying something that would destroy our witness for Christ.  Words can build up others or they can tear them down.  Likewise, remember that God is in on every conversation....written or spoken.  

     For each one of us, it is a struggle to walk in this fallen world and guard our mouths, but with God's help, we will be able to speak in a manner that uplifts rather than destroys.  Our prayer should be like that of King David in Psalm 141:3:  "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!"  Remember that our goal in this life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!  Selah!