Our Plans Are Not Always God’s Plans

How egotistical we are when we think that our way of thinking is right and that, if only God would listen, things would go well. We don’t say that, but our actions kind of show that. How often I think through something and either assume I have the answer or realize I have no idea how I am going to accomplish it. Then God steps in. I think that probably the most embarrassing situation I get myself into is preparing a sermon about how we need to depend on God and then realize I didn’t ask God to help me prepare the message. We can talk a good talk, but sometimes our walk is more like a stagger or a crawl. I was feeling pretty good about the worship services on Easter Sunday, especially the 8:30 and 10:45 services. Right after I started the 8:30 service, I realized I had forgotten to start the recording. Instead of interrupting things, I figured I would record the 10:45 service. The sad thing at 8:30, is that the choir sang, we had a flute accompaniment, and a lot of good voices to join in the singing. Well, after the 10:45 service, when I was taking the SD card out of the camera to put it in my computer, I must have done something wrong, or it just didn’t record right. For some reason, it didn’t seem like that recording was meant to be. Maybe I was too prideful in how things seemed to go. Maybe it was a message just for those that came. I might feel that God should have made the recording work, but He might have had other plans. So now, instead of thinking of what didn't happen, we need to consider what did happen. Jesus died on Good Friday and rose on Easter Sunday. Jesus paid the ransom for our sin, destroyed the power of the devil, conquered death, rose to life, and has gone to prepare a place for all believers. That is the heart of our celebration... not family... no Easter eggs... not huge servings of food... etc. The heart of Easter is Jesus! I have a friend that always likes to say every day is Christmas or sometimes, every day is his birthday so it is time to celebrate. Much more important to our faith is making every day Easter. How do we do that? By recognizing that God forgives not only me, but all who seek Him. By responding, when asked how we are doing, “Joyfully waiting for Jesus’ return”, or “Still celebrating Jesus’ resurrection”. Father, may the words we speak to others be so filled with spiritual truths that others will be drawn to You. Amen