There’s a pretty big fad pushing its way through our culture these days. It’s the trend of LifeCoaching. A Life Coach is someone who, for a relatively sizable sum of money, will walk you through some of life’s challenging moments and help you determine the proper trajectory on which your life should run. They help you determine something called a Life Plan. While their version may not be called exactly that, it will undoubtedly contain some basis for decision-making, what you want to be when you grow up, how to succeed, where you should apply yourself, etc.
The reality of the matter is we all have a life plan of some sort. We all know something of what we want for our lives, even if we can’t decide where to go for dinner. We know that we don’t want to end up without a job and homeless. We all know that we want to do something of significance, whether or not we get recognized. Rarely will you find someone who is content to just be a nobody and do nothing all alone. We know where we want to go on vacation. We dream about what we would do if we hit the lottery (even if we don’t even play). We strive for the promotion at work. We help our children look to the colleges that will help them achieve their goals. You get the point. We all know that we want to do something with our lives. That’s a life plan.
A friend once told me Men plan but God laughs. Have you ever had one of your most well thought out plans fall to rubbish right before your eyes? Ever have one of those perfect ideas that you spent a lifetime assembling just blow up in your face? Well…you’re not alone by any stretch of the imagination.
Just open the pages of the bible and search the stories for episode after episode of times when God took the plans of men in a totally different direction! And what’s even more amazing is it always turns out better than we could have imagined!
Multiply
Take the story of Abraham in the Old Testament for instance. Abraham was married to his wife Sarah. They were wonderfully God-fearing people. But there was a problem. Sarah was unable to have children. She went much of her life wanting to have children but she was unable. She and hubby Abe prayed for children, but nothing – nada – no kids.
Then one day, almost adding insult to injury, God told them that they would have a child. Sarah laughed. She had planned on kids all of her life and now she was old, very old, way past the normal child-bearing age and NOW she was going to have a son? What was he thinking!?! So she laughed hard, loud, and likely for a long time. But that didn’t change things.
See all the while she was planning on children God was smiling, snickering, patiently awaiting the right time to let them know his plan. But that’s not the end of the story. No it gets better. God finally allowed Sarah to get pregnant and sure enough she gave birth to a son Isaac. She and Abraham loved that little boy. They nurtured him and cared for him and raised him well. Until one day God asked for him back.
Yep. You heard me. God called to Abraham and told him to go and sacrifice his son, his only son. Remember that life plan Abraham had developed? The one about a son who would carry on his name and receive the blessing of his inheritance? Well it was about to be dashed because he was supposed to kill his own son in the name of faith in God! Of course Abraham didn’t tell wifey about the command, just that he and Isaac were going to offer a sacrifice to God. Pretty normal thing.
They get to the top of the mountain and Abraham puts his son on the altar he built, prepares to plunge a dagger into his chest when God stops him. He froze his arms and didn’t allow him to move.
God wrecked Abraham’s plans. But he replaced them with plans Abraham never would have dreamed of – not in a million years! Check out God’s plan for Abraham
“By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” Genesis 22:16-18
Do you see that? Abraham wanted A son. God promised him many sons. Men planned, God laughed. That’s the way it should be. So what happens in your life when your hopes and dreams are shattered? How do you react when your plans just don’t work out? Perhaps we need to sit back and wait. Perhaps we need to quiet our minds long enough to hear God’s giggle as he whispers Your plans are not my plans. Your plans aren’t big enough. Just wait for me.
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