The Plan

I’m not nearly as fun as I used to be.

I mean, I think I’ve gotten funner in recent years as the kids have gotten older. But man, becoming a mom turned me into this risk-averse, safety-obsessed basketcase.

Those of you with children probably remember this shift. Suddenly there was danger around every corner. If someone sneezed on the other side of a room, I was terrified that my helpless little baby with her untested immune system would get deathly ill and we’d end up in the NICU.

And you all know I LOVE a plan. Just picture Hannibal (Smith, not Lecter) from the A-Team with his chewed up, unlit cigar hanging out of his mouth grinning and saying, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Yep. That’s me.

Not only do I love plans, but I love BACKUP plans. You know, the ‘just in case’ stuff.

Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. And if that doesn’t work, here’s Plan B.

Ah, the illusion of control. I know it’s about as realistic as unicorns and the Tooth Fairy, but I CHOOSE to believe that getting control and maintaining control IS possible.

I know. It’s cute. Leave me alone. It works for me. Sorta.

Here’s the thing: We can’t worship at the altar of control without calling the question of faith.

God, I surrender to You. Do what You will with my life. Give me the courage to obey. But if it starts going a direction I don’t like, I’ve got a backup plan.

Not exactly the faith that can move mountains, is it?

Do you know what I’ve come to believe through the ups and downs of life so far? God has no Plan B.

When things fell apart for me several years ago, I thought I had ruined God’s plan for my life. I knew He could come up with a Plan B that would be okay, but whatever ideal dream He had for my life was destroyed.

But the more I learn about God’s sovereignty and power, the more I am convinced that He has no Plan A, then if (when) we mess it up, He scrambles to come up with a Plan B (until we screw THAT up….)

If God knows everything, if He knows the thoughts in my head before they are spoken (Psalm 139:4), if He knows the past, present and future with equal accuracy, He already sees how it all turns out.

He already knows the screw-ups and setbacks that will plague my path in coming days. And do you know what? He’s already worked it into The Plan.

There is no Plan B. There is only The Plan.

Now, as humans, we need backup plans to a certain extent. I mean, it’s just plain irresponsible (even illegal, in some cases) to not have insurance, or as Chris Rock calls it “in-case-shit” (sorry, Mom).

All up and down the Florida Turnpike are billboards advocating hurricane preparedness.

In every form you fill out for ANYTHING you participate in, you have to list two or three people to call in case of emergency.

All of this is good. We’re not the all-seeing, all-knowing God of the Universe. And locking your car or installing an alarm system in your home is not a lack of faith. It’s just good sense, which is something God gave us to use.

And yet sometimes, He calls us to reckless faith. And it’s terrifying.

Coach and author Jen Sincero says,

If you’ve made a backup plan, you haven’t made a decision. The Latin roots of the word ‘decide’ literally mean ‘to cut off,’ meaning all the other options fall away.

I read that in her latest book about fully committing to a decision/dream and I immediately thought of Paul and the Great Lifeboat Debate.

In Acts 27, Paul has been arrested again because he just won’t shut up about this Jesus guy. He’s put aboard a ship for Rome with a bunch of other prisoners. After some difficulties, Paul predicts (prophesies) there will be more problems if they continue on that route, but is of course, ignored.

Cue the nor’easter.

A brutal storm battered the ship for two weeks straight. The sailors did all they knew to do to survive. They wrapped giant ropes around the hull of the ship, just to hold it together, threw over all the cargo and tackle, and finally gave up hope.

After the obligatory ‘I told you so,’ Paul speaks again, telling that an angel of the Lord had spoken to him the night before assuring them of their survival, but they must run aground on some island.

The storm raged on for days and the sailors were not convinced.

In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.’ So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away. Acts 27:30-32

Their Plan B (actually probably more like Plan E) was gone. But they knew that not listening to Paul at this point would be a much greater risk.

The storm continued and the ship eventually ran aground and was battered to pieces. Everyone on the ship grabbed on to the broken planks and made for the nearest shore, which ended up being the island of Malta, where the islanders showed them ‘unusual kindness.’

Paul goes on to heal many of the sick people on the island and after a few months, the Maltans give them a new ship complete with supplies and they continue on to Rome.

And this was all a part of The Plan.

What lifeboat or Plan B am I still holding onto, I wonder? Is there a storm bad enough to make me to bail on my faith and kick into survival mode to save my own neck?

Or when I sing, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, do I really mean it? Do I decide to the point of letting all other options fall away, come hell or high water?

From now on, I will be aware of my tendency to build lifeboats in areas where God has called me to absolute faith. Because as my life as shown me thus far, when storms come I am infinitely safer on the ship with God than I would be in a flimsy lifeboat of my own making.

When the storm comes, cut the lines of any lifeboats that may affect the course of the ship and tie yourself to the mast, lest you get washed overboard by just life happening.

God’s got it. He’s got you, He’s got the ship, He’s got the storm (which He can calm with a word at any moment).

And most importantly, He’s got The Plan.