Have you ever prayed that line (and meant it), “not my plan, but Yours oh Lord?” Be careful what you pray for, because it just might come true.
Imagine that you’re a guy name Elisha, and you help run things on your parents’ farm. Life is good on the farm, and you pretty much have your whole life planned out. Once dad gets up in age, this farm is all yours. It’s been in your family since Joshua conquered the land hundreds of years ago. You’re going to settle down, get a wife, have some kids, and live your life. That sounds great, except for one day all of those plans suddenly shift. A man named Elijah walks onto the farm, and your life is never the same again (1 Kings 19).
Since the final Hobbit movie has just come out, I think it’s fair to compare these two stories. Both characters have someone mysteriously appear at their house, and then they are off on an adventure. It’s funny to think of that happening to someone else, or watching it happen to a character in a movie. What would you do if it happened to you? Have you ever prayed that line (and meant it), “not my plan, but Yours oh Lord?” Be careful what you pray for, because it just might come true. Remember, our God is the only God that can hear, speak, and interact with us. He takes those prayers seriously, if the person praying is being serious.
I know I was serious when I prayed prayers like that. I had a burning desire to do something for God, and to touch peoples lives. However, I had my own plans in mind, and didn’t really want anyone interfering with them. I wanted to be a worship leader so bad, and just a worship leader. Now that doesn’t sound like such a bad thing, and in fact it is a noble desire. I worked hard on becoming what I was passionate about, and presumed that I was doing what God wanted me to do. I do believe that I am to be a worship leader, but I was limiting myself. I was in control, and not really opening myself up to what God really had in mind for me. His plans for our lives are enormous, compared to the measly plans we have etched out. Don’t forget that scripture to the people of Israel in Jeremiah 29. “For I know the plans I have for you…” Basically someone else is in charge, and that is where the faith adventure really begins.
You see, I planned on being a worship leader, not a children’s minister, or a greeter, or choir member, a missionary, or even a women of faith. It was my dream and goal to be a worship leader, and I was very focused on accomplishing it. God had other plans in mind, and I have found his plans are usually better. It was God who picked me out of California and sent me to Kansas City for fourteen years of training. It was God who formed and created my faith. It was God who allowed me to go through crises’, so I would see for myself that he was faithful to save me. He stretched me out of my boring, comfortable, walk by my feelings life. Like Elisha, I burned my boring life on the alter, and exchanged it for a faith adventure. I’ve sat under an Elijah, and now it’s time to slap the Jordan with my faith and see it open.
When we turn the movie off, we must realize we’re watching someone else live an adventure, and now its time for us to return to a boring life. Our lives are boring when we stick to what we want, and remain in control. Our lives are boring when we refuse to walk by faith, and truly step into the plan God has for us. My question is this: when are we going to become a person that is watched in movies, and our great-grand children are trying to imitate? I believe this is the year of God adventures, and God is on the lookout for those who would dare pray, “not my plan, but Yours oh Lord.” If you’re serious, get ready because the adventure Bilbo Baggins had, is nothing compared to the great plan God has for you!
