Yes, You Can Ministry

Forget your plans

“Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord…” –Joshua 1:1

As human beings one of our favorite activities is to plan. We plan every minute of every day. A lot of people carry with them/or at least have some sort of day planner. Sometimes we plan days, weeks, months or even years in advance. There is nothing wrong with planning; in fact we are told by Jesus that we should plan ahead. In Luke 14 Jesus tells us to think ahead before we start something, so yes planning is a necessary aspect of a human life. Without planning lives fall apart, and dreams are crushed; it is very important to have dreams/plans for the future.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision the people are unrestrained…” The verb that is translated as unrestrained gives the sense of running wild or having no purpose. It is the same way that Moses described the children of Israel when he came off Mt. Sinai. “Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control…to be a derision among their enemies” -Exodus 32:25 Without a plan we are disrespected by our enemies, and if we are disrespected then we cannot bring God any honor. Plans are important, but our plans must never be allowed to supersede His will.

Moses had been the deliver for Israel. Moses had brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and from underneath Pharaoh’s thumb. The children of Israel had followed Moses for 40 years in the wilderness; now they could see the Promised Land, and the unthinkable happens. Moses dies! The person who had in effect been God to them or at least their only means to hear from God was dead. Their plans disintegrated in front of them, but God is never surprised, and even though Moses was gone God still had plans for the Israelites.

I see in this story a picture of the disciples. For three years the disciples had followed Jesus; they had witnessed Him perform miracles. They saw Him raise the dead; walk on the water, and now they were going to Jerusalem. I know most, or all, of them were thinking, this is it, the moment we’ve been waiting. He’s going to restore the kingdom! Just like the Israelites they were dancing, and praising God. But, in the middle of all this Jesus said He was going to die! The disciples were dazed; they didn’t know what to think, and then Jesus was arrested and crucified by the Romans. Every plan that the disciples had was hung on the cross at Calvary. Listen to these words spoken by Peter, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel…” –Luke 24:21(emphasis mine) The disciples had put all their eggs in one basket, and they thought it had been crushed when Jesus died; but God had other plans. The disciples became more powerful after they threw their plans away and got on board with God’s plan. God used these men who are described as “uneducated and untrained” (Acts 4:13) to turn the world upside down.

I know some of you have had your dreams or plans crushed in front of your face. I can sympathize with you because the dreams that I had for my future were crushed in 1988, but in 1992 I got on board with God’s plans; and His plans have brought me more joy than I would have ever gotten on my own. When your plans disintegrate before your face I ask that you remember 2 things, one remember the words of Jesus, “…yet not My will, but Thine be done.” –Luke 22:42, and secondly remember the words God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, ”For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” –Jeremiah 29:11

Father, I thank You for having plans for my life, and I ask that You help me keep my plans in check behind Your plans because I know that Your plans will bring me more fulfillment than I could ever get on my own. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The image above can be found at:

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