NOT MY PLANS BUT HIS PURPOSES!

NOT MY PLANS BUT HIS PURPOSES!

Job 23:10

10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Jeremy Taylor, 1613 – 1667, was an English Bishop and devotional writer. He wrote: “Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God has bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee. These cords thou canst not break; and therefore lie thou down gently, and suffer the hand of God to do what He pleases.”

          Why would God cast aside your training and experience to allow you to languish in what seems to be a dead-end pattern of unproductive life? We might ask Elijah how he felt camping out on the banks of the brook Cherith waiting for the ravens to air drop his next meal. Elijah was precisely where God wanted him to be and was doing exactly what God told him to do. (See First Kings 17:3-6)

          We might also ask Paul what it felt like to retreat from church planting to join himself with a fellow tent maker. While he was involved in the construction and sale of portable buildings, was he yet an apostle? Yes he was! He was learning valuable insight from Aquila and Priscilla (see Acts 18:1-4).

Most preachers, especially at their first call, sparkle with ambition. To do something is their great desire. They long to stand before the great cathedrals and address large crowds but as often as not they kneel by the water’s edge and engage in conversation with ones like Lydia, the seller of purple, as she washes her fabric (see Acts 16:12-15). Why would God disallow such an honorable ambition? Paul explains it himself in the following verses.

2 Cor 12:7-9

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. [So that I would not become conceited as a result of my special treatment by God.]

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Could Paul have suspected his global and timeless impact while sitting in the dungeon with quill in hand? Could he know that he was writing a majority of Holy Scripture when he penned his letters to the churches? Could he even imagine that he was writing a minister’s manual when he wrote twice to Timothy and again to Titus? I think his wildest ambitions might have fallen far short of God’s purposes.

When God seems to mismanage our life and we sit frustrated in the dust of despair we can only rely upon the truth that He does all things well.

1 Peter 5:6-7

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Dear Lord, I will lie me down gently and allow you to do what you please because I believe your purposes are best. AMEN