God's plan

We’ve all heard the story of the man stuck in the flood who prays for deliverance. He lets two rescue boats and a rescue helicopter pass by because “God will save me.” He succumbs to the flood and asks God at the gates why he wasn’t rescued. “I sent you a rescue three times!”

It’s tempting, to pray for something and try to intuit how God will answer, and it’s tempting to try to do as much for ourselves as we can. Another familiar saying: “Pray as though everything depends on God. Work as though everything depends on you.” But sometimes I feel like I’m working myself into a hole, at the expense of the first part of that saying. 

For me, when faced with the anxiety of a dilemma requiring both prayer and work, I tend to do everything in my power to affect the outcome, and then kind of throw it up into God’s hands and say, “Okay, your turn.” Not only do I think that’s probably the wrong order in which to do things, but it separates God’s work from our work. 

Instead, what if we pray without ceasing and also continue to labor without complaining, letting God work His will through us, in spite of us. What if every day we walk with confidence knowing the Good Shepherd will not let us go astray, and we ask only to be able to share His love and do His will, not get all the answers or see the whole path clearly. That’s what I want—to see the map. I want to know where I’m going and every step along the way, plus how long it’s going to take. God doesn’t work that way, because, as a great man just told me, “God is smart. We are not.” 

If I saw the path, I’m sure I would argue about the best route, the timing, the journey, even the destination. But if I just start walking, I get to experience God’s love every day. That is more than enough.