The Best Laid Plans

It's amazing how God works. In the last post I was contemplating how we as Christians should use the resources God blesses us with. Is it possible to waste what God has given? Definitely. But, there is no formula to figure out just what is enough or what is too much. Personally, I think focusing on costs so much and being so worried about being "good stewards" that it is the money that is the central factor in a decision is more of a danger for many Christians than being poor stewards. Our focus obviously should be on answering God's leading, and sometimes it might not make sense either financially or through human reasoning to follow God's leading. I am glad that God works in different ways in different areas when it comes to church buildings, and I trust that the leaders responsible for building churches in Liberia, Sudan, or Pennsylvania are (and have) all spent time in prayer and are continuing to seek the Lord's leading.

Along those lines, something that I have been thinking about quite a bit lately is how God works. It is frustrating (refreshing) how He always does things in spite of us (me) and doesn't work the way we (I) would like or understand. A friend of mine who is working here in Sudan recently said that the trick to this place is simple: Nothing is going to go according to plan, so accept it. Now, I like to think of myself as pretty smart. For some reason I think I can plan well and know or can figure out the best way to do things in a given situation. That's not easy here. (It's probably not easy wherever each of you are reading this either, though.) But for me, over the last several months as I try to make plans for how we can accomplish the most in getting churches ready to build and in getting materials and crews out to sites once the church is ready, I make a lot of plans. The trouble is, things never go according to plan. In spite of this, there has been a lot that has gotten done while I have been here in South Sudan. I'd like to think that this is in large part because of me, but it can't be. Things work out often times because the obvious choice for how to get things done presents itself at just the right time. When I try to do something that I think would work best logically, often times I create extra work for myself that proves unnecessary as something else happens to nullify whatever I did, or immediately after I do something it becomes clear that the situation could have been taken care of with half the work had I only waited. Frustrating, of course, but then again, it is good to know that it's not about me (less pressure anyways).

First Corinthians 1:27-29 says "Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God." I'm glad God humbles us (at least today I am, unfortunately many times I can't say that honestly). It's not worth trying to figure everything out all the time. Faith in Christ will lead to some unexpected decisions and situations. Life stays interesting that way, and that is something I can definitely say is a good thing.

So, money isn't nearly as important as we make it out to be. Wisdom isn't as important as we think. Power and importance really mean nothing. Knowing Christ and following him is what matters, even when it doesn't make sense. Being in a place where things never go as planned you would think that I would realize some of this quicker or easier, but it is still a constant struggle to become less and allow God to become greater and greater (John 3:30). I wish you all a pleasant day or night wherever you may be.