Thursday, June 9, 2011

Does God Ever Interrupt His Own Plan?

This blog is all about discovering God's plan for us and jumping in. What happens when the plan we know to be God's seems interrupted by another opportunity brought to us by God? Is that God changing his plan or something else?

Is it possible to be so intent on following God's call on our lives that the plan itself becomes more important than obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit?

I'm learning that this may be an area where I need to exercise great care and attentiveness in my daily walk. This is especially true when being obedient takes me out of my comfort zone. I can become so focused on learning a new skill or doing something different that I allow what should be my first priority - my relationship with God - to slip in the ranks down to second, third, fourth... It's not long before I'm feeling the effects:

  • feeling overwhelmed
  • losing my sense of purpose
  • feeling overwhelmed - did I already say that one? it's a biggie!
  • loss of discipline in most - if not all - areas of my life
  • becoming irritable
  • inability to sense and respond to God's leading
We see God's plan from a very human, finite perspective. God sees the whole picture. What we see as an interruption - something not a part of the plan - God sees as the next step. 

How do we keep from making 'the plan' into an idol? By going back to first things. Taking time to let God speak to you through his word - asking him to reveal himself to you so that your obedience to his calling in your life flows from that relationship instead of replacing it with busyness. 

With the best of intentions, I can still find myself frustrated when my 'plan' is interrupted by something unexpected. I am praying for God to help me be so focused on him and ready to serve that I remember that nothing that happens or comes to me during the day is coincidence.

God is not a God of coincidence or luck; he is the creator, the master planner, the director of the great plan, and he wants us to join him. To do that we have to be willing to let go of our own agendas and go with the flow...follow the Holy Spirit's leading.

Thank God today for the 'interruptions' he places in your path each day. Thank him for the opportunity to serve represented by each one, and pray for the sensitivity to hear the spirit lead, and the courage to follow. 

Have a wonderful, God-interrupted day.   

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