Jeremiah 29:11 is probably one of the most quoted verses in scripture. It’s the one about the plans God has for us…. remember? It used to be that I figured I had messed up the best plan royally by now, but looking back (remembering) the way God worked with people like Abraham or Jacob who messed up constantly made me realize that just because I mess up it doesn’t mean that God’s plans don’t happen. And then I began to see that it’s not so much the plan as it is the goal – to be more like Yeshua. It’s so easy for me to have a laundry-list of things I want God to do (my plans). I think part of the process is learning to remember that His way is ultimately better (for the overall goal of restoring the world, not always for me)… and being willing to submit to it. Anyway, my thoughts seem oddly jumbled this morning. Skip Moen wrote an interesting post about this verse today, and I highly recommend reading it. It’s got some really interesting points about God’s plan and our tendency to put God in a box. Read it here. >>>
Jonah 4:1 This change of plans upset Jonah, and he became very angry. I can so relate to this! I like to know what’s going on, and sudden changes in plan tend to throw me a little. I can also understand a little about why Jonah was angry that God changed His mind about destroying Nineveh. It’s not about the destruction, so much as it’s about Jonah’s reputation as a prophet. Prophets could be killed for falsely prophecying. Plus, to predict death and destruction and then have nothing happened makes him look foolish or incoompetent. How many of us hate it when that happens! Maybe we predicted a major systems failure that never happened, or we predicted that our students would do awesome on a test (maybe even bragging about our awesome teaching methods) and they bombed it. Or, maybe we claimed a promise or asked God for a miracle that never seemed to come. I think this last one is a big one. There are times when I am afraid to believe God for something or to ask Him for something because I’m afraid of looking foolish if it doesn’t happen. Our anger and fear of looking silly or of being wrong overshadows and stifles our faith. Faith can be fragile, and these ugly weeds of, ultimately, pride and selfishness can strangle it before it has a chance to grow. So, yeah, I can understand Jonah frustration. That still doesn’t make it right. But I can understand it a little. Maybe, in the end, it helps to remember that God isn’t interested in my comfort level, so much as He’s interested in the souls of those around me. And He will do whatever it takes for those souls to hear His voice, even if it means a change in plans.