Plans & Steps

“A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9.

Sovereignty. Freedom. Responsibility. Choice. Will. Desire. How does He lead? Is it through one, another, or all of the above? This year we’ve really been learning that He is either sovereign in everything, or sovereign in nothing. The very term ‘sovereign’ does not leave room for any other option. Yet we decide what time to get up each morning, what activities to invest our time into, and what attitude to bring to it all.

For us this week, we faced a few curveballs in our plans. First, we hit many roadblocks in making our way to Nepal – the frustration turned into comedy as we hit dead end after dead end and finally stopped, wondering if Someone was trying to get our attention and send our steps another direction. Well, it turns out that we ARE still going to Nepal, just a few days later than planned, which “just so happens” to have allowed us to physically rest, take care of visas at embassies here in Delhi, and actually get tickets at a cheaper rate than we first were trying in vain to plan. Second, when we got our visa to China this morning, we discovered it will only be valid for 3 months, not the 6 we had applied for. So, we called our friends in China and it “just so happens” that it is actually far better for them to have us come in that window of time instead of when we were trying to coordinate it.

Are these matters of the Father’s “will”? Would we have been “out of His will” if we had pushed through and forced a way to Nepal earlier, or if we had re-applied for another visa when it fit our time schedule? Not according to His Word. But still time and time again we can all attest to making plans and then having our steps “diverted”, often in ways we can identify as being for good. Tonight Heather Malakar gave a study on understanding what the Word says about the Father’s will in situations where it’s not a matter of moral/immoral … a lesson in the freedom we have to make decisions and choices based on the wisdom He provides and resting in the security of His sovereignty. A worldview that is based on the Word will recognize that the Father’s ultimate will reaches far beyond what physical steps we take (i.e., His eternal plan), and yet He is not far removed from our daily lives. He has not abandoned our physical steps and choices – while often it is not a matter of “right” or “wrong”, nonetheless His hand can often be seen through interruptions or derailments of our plans. This is not an excuse to live as though we’re not responsible for our choices, because clearly scripture teaches we are. But it is a gift in this world where changes can be frustrating, tiring, even disillusioning, to recognize we serve a Father who is detail-oriented.

"God's sovereignty and man’s responsibility are asserted side by side in scripture (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). Whether or not we can put them together in our minds, we must accept both truths.” - Heather Malakar