Change of Plans

Close your eyes for a minute and picture this. God has been tugging at your heart for some time. You sense Him calling you in some new direction, or maybe a new job, a new city, a new relationship, possibly even into ministry. You pray about it, mull it over, seek wise counsel from a friend or family member, pray about it some more, weigh all the pros and cons, and listen for God’s small still voice to confirm it. At first you were hesitant, it would mean some big (and scary) changes, but now you finally have your head and heart wrapped around the plan, and you are ready to “go for it”. You have a nice neat plan all laid out and it all begins to make sense to you.

But not so fast! Out of the blue, God changes the plan and instead of turning left at the next intersection as the plan seemed to indicate, He tells you to turn right. You find yourself saying – “Wait a minute God, that’s not what I signed up for. I signed up for (you fill in the blank here) and seemingly out of nowhere You are asking me to do something totally different. I’m not sure I really understand. I was ready for that other thing, but this, I’m not so sure.” You ever been there? I know I have.  

Now picture what Joseph must have felt like. In Gospel of Matthew we read that he was engaged to a young woman named Mary. One day she comes to him and tells him that even though she is still a virgin she is pregnant. And not only that, she tells Joseph that this son was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph likely said, “Yea right, and I am Santa Claus!” After hearing the news Joseph was making plans to divorce her but soon an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him it was all true and in Matthew 1:22-23 we read this – All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

The story goes on to tell us that “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and he took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And they gave him the name Jesus” (vv.24-25).

So, here we have Joseph with his nice neat plans for marriage and “living happily ever after” turned totally upside down when God first tells Mary, then Joseph, that they will be the parents of the Savior of the world. Talk about a change of plans!

How do you respond when God’s plan changes? When you go from ready to unprepared?    

Dave’s note – I am working by butt off to fully recover from my stroke. I am still not able to write every day but look forward to the day when I can.

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