Have you ever seen a rail yard? A huge place where railroad tracks crisscross so much that you get dizzy looking at it. Do you know the kind of place that I mean?Well, I'm convinced that I live in such a place. You see, I always plan my life path. I know where I am and I know where I'm going. I have the course plotted out. I even know where I will stop to rest. Unfortunately, in these moments of wisdom, I sometimes forget to consult with God on what HIS plan is. And because of that, He usually finds a place to switch me off my track and put me on His.
That then causes me panic because rather than get closer to MY destination, I seem to be going in a totally different direction. A NORMAL person would accept that this new way is God's plan and go with it. But me? NOPE. I continue to try to get back on MY track. And God continues to divert my train. And we do it over and over.
And another thing, when you are about to switch tracks, you are supposed to slow down. Except when you are God. I can be going full speed ahead. I have my lil engineers hat on and my dirty overalls. I'm hanging out of the locomotive, on my way to wherever. And then-BOOM! God doesn't even slow me down. He just takes the next off ramp. Umph. It really isn't fun.
I've decided that this year, I will NOT fight with God on where I'm going and what I'm going to do when I get there. So there will be no announcement of plans for this year and no declaration of goals. I will submit completely and let him map out the journey. You can find me in the dining car..
Your comments--priceless!!
Amen!!
There's a saying “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” I often think of this when my plans go in a different direction. It reinforces God is in control & I can easily laugh at myself. Depending on the goal, I might keep it and accept its ok to go a different route or the arrival time will be altered.... Happy blogoversary & all that Jazz!
In a message I preached years ago, I said that "cleverness is never a subsitute for faith in God."
For those of us with natural problem-solving skills, we seem to have an ongoing battle between submitting our architectural plans to God for approval versus waiting on His complete design.
The Message Bible interpretation of Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us wisdom to apply to this area:
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all.”
We have to admit, however, that each sentence in the scripture contains something that is difficult to apply to our daily life.