Not According To Plan

You are so arrogant! That may seem like a shocking statement but it is oh so true. It has happened to everyone one of us. Think about it. You are on your way to some appointment and then you hit traffic and you get so mad. Or you had some things you wanted to get done today and you wake up sick and you are frustrated because you are too sick to get out of bed. Then there is that time when you really need a coffee and you run over to the coffee shop and find out the line is going out to the street! UGH! So frustrating! Don’t forget about the days where you have a few things in mind to get done. You saved this day to get these things finished and done with. Then someone calls you and you're on the phone for an hour or two. Or one of the projects on your list takes longer than you thought it would. Now you're pressed for time and get upset because you won't get the other things done that you hoped to. Picture that you're driving into work. You are on time. There is no traffic. You have that cup of coffee with you that you love to have in the morning. The boss is off today. The workload is light. The sun is out. You plan on having a great day at work today! Then that customer or coworker has a sour attitude. They say some things that are cutting. They rain on our sunny day and change your attitude. Now you're grumpy and upset they ruined your day! Another scenario: imagine how you plan on getting to church on time and in a good mood. But then you slept in. Or you can’t find the kids' shoes. Or you forgot you needed gas in the car. So you yell and scream that it didn’t happen like you envisioned. You just wanted to get to church on time! Now you have to compose yourself before coming into church so people think you're a good Christian! Next, you have some company come over to your house. They were just coming for an hour or two. You planned to do something when they left. But their hour or two ends up being four or five and now you can’t get done what you wanted! UGH! You plaster on a smile while deep down you're wishing they would just leave already. Plus there are those times when you are tired and need to get to bed, yet your spouse needs to talk to you about something. Why now?! Why not before? When I wasn't trying to get to sleep!!

There can be so many more that I could list that we have all experienced: the car breaks down, someone doesn’t show up in time, you forgot you were supposed to be somewhere, there’s a storm, you lose track of the time, there’s construction that slows you down, you get hurt, etc! All of these examples, and many more like them, are arrogant. “WHOA WHOA WHOA PASTOR! How is this arrogant? I got to my doctor on time. My appointment was to be at 2PM and they made me wait an hour in the waiting room. Now I can't run to the store like I planned because I was there longer than expected. How is that arrogant? It wasn’t my fault? They said 2 and took me in at 3! They caused this, not me!” I am not saying it is your fault that things didn’t go according to plan. I am saying it is arrogant to think that your plans are that important. That you elevate your schedule to the point of thinking you are in control. Believing that you are sovereign and everything will happen the way you want them to. “Pastor, I don't think that! I know I am not God!” You know how I know we are arrogant in these situations? Because of our reaction! When we get frustrated and mad when things don't happen the way we planned, that is arrogant.  Let me lay it out a different way: Are you in control of the universe? Are you sovereign over the world? Are you God? Of course not! Then why are we getting so upset when things do not go according to the way we planned them? Only God’s plans go according to plan. That's it. To be upset when it doesn’t happen the way we want it to,  is showing that we think we are God! It shows our true heart. That we think we are in control and we arrogantly want everything to happen the way we plan it to.

Now, we all know that we are not in control. We all know things happen. We all know that we can not predict or control the future. But our frustrated reactions show that our hearts, deep down, really desire to be God and be in control so that things happen the way we want them too! God teaches us this in James: “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4:13–16)

God is not saying that we should stop planning things. It is not sinful to have a schedule or a to-do list. The sin is thinking things will happen the way you want them to. That as long as you will and desire it, it will be done! That nothing will interfere. And all you have to look at is your reaction to see your true heart. For out of the heart the mouth speaks. And we speak in anger and frustration. Edward Welch on this topic said, “What would happen if you began each day with, ‘If the Lord wills’? ‘If the Lord wills, I will get to my appointment on time.’ ‘If the Lord wills, I will be treated fairly by my employer.’ If we learn this, we no longer live as if we are slaves to the circumstances of life. Follow the logic of the passage. We are always making plans, whether we know it or not. We have plans and expect that no person or act of God will interfere with them. How do we know that we are unduly committed to or depend on our plans? By the way we respond when things don’t go our way. So James begins by reminding us of the obvious: we do not know what tomorrow will bring.”

John MacArthur on this passage of scripture comments, “James is [attacking] their exclusion of God. Allowing for no contingencies, they planned as if they were omniscient, omnipotent and invulnerable. Life is far from simple. It is a complex matrix of forces, events, people, contingencies and circumstances over which we have little or no control, making it impossible for anyone to ascertain, design or assure any specific future. Despite that, some people foolishly imagine that they are in charge of their lives. Sadly such people ignore not only the existence of God’s will, but also its benefit. Christians have the comfort of knowing that the sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent God of the universe controls every event and circumstance of their lives and weaves them all into His perfect plan for them (Romans 8:28).”

We need to change our approach to our daily plans. We know we are not in control, yet we are surprised when things don’t happen the way we plan. We get mad or blame whoever interfered with our holy agenda! Instead we need to remember “If the Lord wills…” We need to start allowing for the nuance of interference. We need to understand that these interruptions were placed there by God for a reason! J. Oswald Sanders said in his book on leadership, “One busy man told me how he mastered the problem of interruptions. ‘Up to some years ago, I was always annoyed by them, which was really a form of selfishness on my part. People used to walk in and say, “Well, I just had two hours to kill here…and I thought I would come and see you.” That used to bother me. Then the Lord convinced me that He sends people our way. He sent Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch. He sent Barnabbas to see Saul. The same applies today. God sends people our way. So now I take interruptions as from the Lord. They belong in my schedule, because the schedule is God’s to arrange at His pleasure.’”

So realize today that there will be interruptions. Plan that things will not go according to plan. Don’t be so frustrated when you can’t get something done. If the Lord wills, you will get it done. If not, there is a reason. Besides, whose schedule is more important? Yours or His?