As a part of my morning meditation, I do something that I never have done well. I sit quietly. I try to empty my mind. I pray: “Here I am Lord……..use me.” Sometimes, an idea comes to me……pretty much out of nowhere. Sometimes, this idea becomes the seed for one of these blog posts. That is the case today.
Use me.
Seems pretty straightforward. I am asking my king for my marching orders for today. This can be a little scary. Just like you, I have an agenda, a plan for the upcoming day. And not just that…….I have a plan for the week, for the month, for the rest of my life. My plan is a pretty good one. For the most part, it serves God’s community. For the most part, it serves my family. But a whole lot of my plan serves me. God has a plan too. He has a plan for me. And that is where the trouble comes in. Because, God’s plan is often different from my plan. No. God’s plan is usually different from mine.
So, how do I deal with the conflict between God’s plan for my day and my plan for my day?
There is a range of ways to get around this:
Eliminate God. If you deny God’s existence, you can eliminate as invalid anything that God asks of you that is outside of your plan.
Marginalize God. You pay lip service to God. If anyone asks, you say that you believe in God. You go to church on Sunday, you pray…..maybe daily, you might even tithe. But when you get up on Monday morning, you start working out your plan. You put God in a box for the next six days. You file God away where his plan cannot interfere with your plan. Maybe you read the Bible. But, you pick through the instructions……you use the parts that support your plan and discard anything that conflicts with your plan. Jimmy Carter was a good Christian man; but, his book “Christianity” is an instruction manual on this technique.
Enlist God. This is, perhaps, the tool that is most used by serious Christians. This is the tool that I often find myself reverting to. I put together a “to-do” list for God. Sure, the list includes a number of “kingdom goals.” But, there is always a line item or two, perhaps many items, straight out of my plan for the day.
I can divide the list of line items on my “to-do” list for God into two categories.
God……use me. Use me to work out your plan.
Example: “come Holy Spirit.”
God…..I need to use you. I’ll use you to work out my plan.
Example: “please let the Bengals win”
As an exercise, write down your “to-do” list from your last prayer. Now divide it between those two categories.
This will give you an idea of just how close your plan is to God’s plan. I find that this exercise is pretty convicting. But, don’t feel bad. Jesus, fully man and fully God, struggled with this same conflict.
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Jesus struggling with two plans….his plan and his father’s plan.
Luke 22:42, ESV
We are clearly told to pray for God’s help in working out our plan. But, we must be mindful of whose plan we are working on when we pray. That way, when we pray, our prayer becomes a tool for bringing our plan into alignment with God’s plan…….which, after all, is the real plan.
“Father……….not my will, but yours, be done”
Amen
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
Abraham Lincoln considering which side God was on during the Civil War…….considering which plan to follow, his plan or God’s plan.