Sunday, June 21, 2020
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God’s Wonderful Plan
O Lord, you are my God, I will extol you and praise your name; for you have fulfilled your wonderful plans of old, faithful and true.
When life takes a sour turn we have a number of paths from which to choose and even though we might not see them clearly, these opportunities to journey with God are always present. Over the last several weeks we have examined how to deal with calamity, dark plots, loss and schemes and we have seen that the bread of life, our new manna, always appears when we find ourselves in exodus. As we move away from the enslavement of paralyzing fear we know that we must take our small footsteps toward our well-deserved freedom; yet each of these small step is an agony when we believe we are traveling alone. Too often crisis comes upon us with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Too often this fear becomes doubt. And too often this doubt convinces us that we are best to travel without companions of any kind. If this is our thinking . . . we know that we must make an adjustment to allow God’s wonderful plan for us to unfold.
We may be tempted to turn away from people, places or events that bring us happiness thinking that we somehow “jinx” ourselves by anticipating joy and goodness. And when we do this we avoid God’s wonderful plan for us.
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We may shrink back from the offer of a traveling companion thinking that we can “go it alone” or that “we are better off not weighing anyone else down.” And when we do this we reject the opportunity for God to visit us with a healing, itinerant angel.
We may avoid sharing our sorrow and grief with others, or we may believe that we are not deserving of a traveling partner who will accompany us through the sticky patches of life. And when we do this we shut ourselves away from the small miracles that God works as we share our pain with our traveling companions.
We may punish ourselves believing that we have been fooled as does Jeremiah when he cries out: You duped me, O Lord and I let myself be duped (Jeremiah 20:7). For this reason we may shut ourselves away, we may “tough it out” or we may even try to pretend that all is well. And when we do this we deprive ourselves of the gift of sharing our yoke with one who bears all burdens well.
I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
When we refuse all offer of alliance we refuse God’s wonderful plans and perhaps we are thinking that we are too exhausted or too inept to fight the battle that looms ahead. And when we think this we forget that . . . The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it,: when you would turn to the right or to the left”. (Isaiah 30:20-21)
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God turns all harm to good. God is faithful and true. God is compassionate and just. God is good and gentle. God is powerful and tender. God is our rock that does not move and upon which we build a strong foundation. And God is also a shield we carry into any battle that looms ahead.
So let us acknowledge the gift of God’s presence, let us open our hearts to the one who created us, and let us willingly receive the gift of God’s wonderful plan.
If we want to begin a journey but still do not see where or how to take the first step, we can click on the Journeys of Transformation tab on this blog and choose a path.
Images from: http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2010/09/sunday-school-lesson-36-isaiah-1-6/ and http://calebcompany.org/gods-path-to-success/ and http://miriadna.com/preview/walking-path
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