Contentment vs. Our Perfect Plan: Our Way or God's Way

"This is what the Lord says: 'You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,' says the Lord. 'I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land." Jeremiah 29:10-14

Many of you will know the popular verse in Jeremiah 29:11 ('For I know the plans I have for you', says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.' NLT) How many of us live out this verse? This past Sunday we were able to enjoy a sermon from Mark Burch of Church Planting BC. His sermon was based on building a great city but it got me thinking of so much more than that. So here it goes...

Are we content with where we are at in life? Do we continually compare ourselves to our neighbours, friends and relatives? Are we constantly seeking God's will for our lives or do we want what we think is best for ourselves? Do we have a plan for our lives and if things don't turn out the way we want them to are we upset about it? Let's unpack some of these questions.

Contentment vs. our perfect plan: our way or God's way. As a planner I believe I have special insight into the transformation that must take place in all of our lives. Yes, I did say 'must take place'. It is my firm belief that you cannot have every moment of your life planned out yet say you are open to the will of the Lord and seek to follow what He has in store for your life. It just doesn't work. It is as if you are saying 'okay Lord work in my life but I want to be married and have kids and a nice house...etc.' That to me is putting God in a box and only taking Him out when it suits your needs. How are we to know if what we have planned for our life is actually what is best for us? My plan for my life was to be married by the time I was 21 and have all four of my kids by the time I was 30. Simply looking at those two areas that I had all planned out, we see how my real life is different. I wasn't married till I was 23 and now that I am 25.5 and have no kids... I doubt I'll have all my kids in the next 4.5 years. I look back at where I was when I was 21 and who I was dating at the time. Praise the Lord I did not follow through with my plan! God had a much better plan in store for me. The same thing happens when we look at my job situation and my housing arrangement. I really didn't think I would still be working an on-call position at TWU or renting a suite. This is the plan God has for me. Yes, naturally you look at the people around you and see how the Lord has blessed them. You wonder why He picked them to have full time jobs, brand new cars and a brand new house. I think that is a way society has messed with our minds. It has told us that we need to have X, Y and Z. Then if we do not have those things then we aren't living up to society's standards. Who cares? Are we put on this Earth to live up to society's standards or God's? Honestly, ask yourself if you are living for this world or for Christ in the way that you look at your life, society and the things you have. Are you stuck in your own ideas of what you life should look like? Or are you really, truly open to do what God has called you to do? God is teaching me that His plans are really the best option. I have realized that it is a way better idea to go with the plan created by the Creator of the universe, Who knows all, sees all and has everything planned out. I mean really, compare that to my measly human idea of what is good for me. Yeah right. I'm sorry, God's plan trumps my own every day of my life. Is it easy? Not always. Is it less stressful? Absolutely! God provides this wonderful gift called peace. I am amazed at how at peace I am about life. True, there are days where I look at all we have to do to prepare for Colombia and am overwhelmed. I have to force myself to stop, remember that God is in control, and start working at our to do list. If we are really suppose to go to Colombia then God has everything already sorted out. We do still have to work and take action to accomplish all that we have to do, but God is moving ahead of us.

You may be experiencing what I call 'dark days'. Those days where you feel like you have no direction, no purpose in life. You may be looking for a job or to change jobs and there are no options. You may be thinking that you are doing God's will but He decides to move you to another country. You may be wondering if you will be single for the rest of your life. Whatever the case may be, it's not a fun place to be. I've been there. God is there right now, walking with you or maybe even carrying you through this stage. "The Lord says, 'I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you" Psalm 32:8. For whatever reason, God has chosen to walk you through this. We do not understand God's ways. I have made it a habit of saying, "the Lord works in mysterious ways". We are finite beings, how can we possibly comprehend the ways of an infinite Lord? God is sovereign, He is in control of everything. I remember someone telling me that God always answers in one of three ways. It is either a yes, a no or a not right now. You may feel as if life keeps saying No to you. No jobs, no significant other, no fun. It may just be God telling you 'not right now.' Just like when we were kids and we wanted to eat lots of candy and stay up really late at night. God used our parents to tell us to go to bed and that we could have some candy later. Imagine how sick and tired we would be if we got to eat all the candy we wanted and never go to bed. That sounds like an unwise choice to me. Praise the Lord for parents.

All in all, I want to encourage you to seek peace with where you are at right now. Yes, it probably isn't where you expected to be when you thought about your future. That's okay. I want to warn you though, being at peace with where you are does not mean you stop what you're doing and just hang out. You continue to seek God's will for your life. You keep pushing yourself to be the best example of Christ that you can be to the people you encounter. Look for ways you can impact your world for Christ. You job is to further His Kingdom. It is about God's way NOT your way. This is contrary to what society says so be prepared for people to ridicule your choices. I believe God uses today to prepare us for tomorrow. The things you have already done or are currently doing are preparing you for what God has in store for you next. Originally I went to school to be a PE teacher then decided I didn't want to lesson plan for the rest of my life. I wanted to keep my work life and my home life separate. I didn't want to bring home marking either. Now I have married a teacher and God has called me to teach PE in Colombia. Again, the Lord works in mysterious ways. Also, God calls us to one place for a time. We never know how long He puts us in one place. You may be experiencing something that seems like the perfect fit then God calls you away from that. Now that really does not make sense. He has a plan. He is in control. He knows what is best for you even if you don't agree. Go with His way. Think about the story of Jonah. Now Jonah did not agree with God's idea of sending him to Nineveh to preach the judgement of the Lord on those people. Jonah didn't want to so he went in the opposite direction. Bad idea buddy. God sent a huge storm, Jonah gets tossed overboard by the other sailors, Jonah gets swallowed by a giant fish, stays in the fish for three days and three nights, then proceeds to get vomited on the beach. If God calls you to do something and you run... I'll say it again... Bad idea buddy! Seriously, the story of Jonah is a great example of God's humour as well as His power and how He has everything under control. God uses all types of people, even those who are unwilling and don't do the job very well. Praise the Lord for that. We don't have to be perfect to be used. We can even mess everything up and the Gospel still spreads. What a relief!

Be content with where God has placed you now. Fully engage and invest in your community. You never know what God has in store for you next but be prepared for life to change. God's ways are perfect, learn to love it!