Life As It Is
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “who execute a plan, but not Mine’ and who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit” Isaiah 30:1
Plan – We are big on planning. We plan for business success, career advancement, income investment and retirement. We plan for our safety. We even plan our children. We congratulate ourselves because we have so much under control. But I wonder if we haven’t incited God’s anger with all our planning. If Isaiah offers any insight, it is this: my plans lead only to sinful arrogance if I am not executing His plan.
The problem with planning is that our plans usually assume that there is some mysterious force in control of life that we have to tame or master in order to get what we want. We operate under the “life as it is” assumption. We think that it’s really up to us to get a handle on living. I am beginning to see that God has a different point of view.
It’s not that God doesn’t like plans. The implication in this declaration of woe is clear. God has a plan that we can, and should, know. Our job is to execute His plan, not to execute our plans. There is still a plan. The question is who is the author. God expects me not to take life as it comes but rather to engage in life as I allow it. That means that I have to have a personal, involved intimacy with the One Who engineers my life. Life doesn’t show up in a tangled mess. Life is carefully crafted so that I have exactly the opportunities I need in order to put His plan into action. My faithfulness is determined by my willingness to execute His plan, not by my capacity to create my plan. Once again, I am dependent on His instruction. The first step is always the same: listen.
The Hebrew word here is ‘etsah. You will find it in Judges 20:7, Job 12:13 and Proverbs 12:15 where it is translated “counsel” or “advice.” That sheds more light on the issue. What if this verse read, “who took advice, but not Mine.” That might cause some panic among us. How many times have we sought advice from those who have no alignment with the Kingdom? Financial advice, business advice, legal advice, parental advice – all coming from perspectives that disregard God’s point of view. And we call it “planning.” It is nothing but sinful foolishness. Certainly it cannot be planning since plans without God are doomed to fail. This kind of advice is the worst kind you could get. It leads directly to destruction, no matter how well thought of it is in the world’s systems. Now you know a bit more about what Paul meant when he told us not to be conformed to the patterns of this world.
There is a plan. It just isn’t mine. Executing my plan is arrogant and foolhardy. Before you decide what you will do next, try a different approach. Listen – hard.
