Making Plans

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Christmas Day is coming to a close. All the proverbial hustle and bustle, done for the most part. If it's been good, we'll bask in the afterglow of it for the rest of December, and perhaps make plans for the New Year. If it's been difficult, we'll breathe a sigh of relief and hope the New Year brings a change for the better, and perhaps make plans accordingly. Whether loosely or rigidly made, there's usually a plan of some kind. Open-ended or defined down to the last detail, we have an idea of what we plan to do.

Joseph had plans. I'm sure the original set did NOT include a pre-wedding pregnancy and a trip to Bethlehem by donkey with a woman who was 9 months pregnant. As a carpenter, I'm pretty sure Joseph never planned to not be able to provide a clean environment for Mary to birth her first child - God's child! Can you even imagine being given the responsibility of caring and providing for God's child?

I've listened to the Christmas story in the book of Luke every day this month with that perspective in mind. I thought I knew the story. No, I knew the outline, not the details. It's like singing Christmas carols, we sing the songs learned by rote as children. Do we grasp the great truths? The glimpses of glory? Not usually...

Have you ever stopped to consider the details not mentioned in the story? Did you ever wonder why God didn't make Mary's last trimester easier? And let's not forget moving with a toddler to Egypt and then later back to Nazareth. It's not like they could rent a U-Haul.

I think about John whose life was all about heralding the Christ. I think about Jesus whose sole purpose in coming in the flesh was to make atonement for our sins so we could be redeemed back to God. John in prison sent disciples to ask Jesus - "Are You the One?" (Luke 7:19). John was beheaded. Jesus was crucified. Both died horrible deaths but died believing God's purpose. 

So the question is, can we believe God's purpose for our lives is perfect - even when life doesn't go according to our plans?

Prayer:

Father,

           We pray according to Your Word in Psalm 33, We wait in hope for You, Lord; You are our help and our shield. In You our hearts rejoice, for we trust in Your holy Name. May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen