God's God a Purpose, You've Just Got a Plan

Let me tell you a little secret about God... He is way more interested in His plans being accomplished than your plans.

I believe that if it's important to us it's important to God.  If you love your dog or cat and they pass that's important to God because you are important to God.  But if God has to choose between your plans being accomplished and His plans being accomplished you're gonna lose every time.

God himself said, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa 55:9).   That means that what we think we know, we don't really know.  Our plans are based on what we think about the future and quite often they are at lease a little selfish.  God's plans are based on His perfect purpose knowing exactly how everything is going to go.

Isn't funny, knowing that God knows it all, how we get upset when God interrupts our plans?  He knows everything about everything!  He knows exactly what each person will say, what they will do and what they are thinking right now... and now... and now...  But if God interrupts our calendar, our schedule or our financial plan we get irritated.

There is a story in 1 Kings 17 about the prophet Elijah and a widow.  Elijah shows up at the edge of town and finds this widow out collecting sticks and twigs.  He asks her for a drink of water and while she is going to get it he also asks her to bring him back a piece of bread.  Her reply is stunning and saddening.  She reveals her very devastating reality - she has only enough oil and flour for one more small cake of bread.  After she and her son eat it there is nothing left for them but death.  That was her life plan, gather sticks to make bread.  Eat the bread.  Die.  Of course that doesn't happen.

What does happen is nothing short of miraculous.  Because she obeys Elijah (who is speaking for God) and makes the cake of bread for him instead of her son and herself the oil in her jar doesn't run out and there is a continuous supply of flour from her canister until the drought in the land comes to an end.

But she would have never experienced this miracle of supply if she refused to change her plans in favor of God's plan.   She chose life over death when she chose to obey and change her plans.

The same principle is at work in our lives too.  You have to change your plans to see God's purpose.  When we rigidly hold to our plans, financial plans, schedule, calendar and aren't willing to change we're saying to God, "I got this."  "My plan is better than your plan."  That is called Pride and I remember hearing something about it leading to a fall.

You may not think you have enough to accomplish God's purpose - the widow didn't think she had enough flour and oil - but it's not what you have, it's what God can do with what you have.  I'm thinking of fish and bread right now for some reason, must be lunch time. But because the widow was willing to change her plans she was able to see God's purpose - His purpose was to save her, her son and Elijah from the drought.  Had she held to her plan instead of God's purpose she and her son would have died and God would have used someone else to provide for Elijah.

Have you ever thought you didn't have enough so you ditched God's purpose in favor of your plan?   Maybe you didn't think you had the financial resources to give what God asked but what if His purpose was to supply your need through your obedience?

Have you ever decided to change your plans and then got to see God's purpose unfold?  I'd love to hear about it!  Please share in the comments!