My awesome Pastor sent me the most amazing prayer yesterday, called "Go Placidly Amid the Noise..." . I love it. (I guarantee that more posts about or inspired by this prayer will follow!) It's from the archives of the new World Prayers site. There are so many great, profound, and contemplative lines in it! I highly recommend you all read it...
But today I'd like to draw your attention to two lines in particular:
"And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
Now, I don't know about all of you, but I like to know what is going on. I'm a busybody -- I'm nosy and curious and I like to konw exactly what's happening, what's going to happen, when, why, how...etc, etc. If plans are made, I want to know what they are!! I'm not one to be kept waiting, and I don't like just waiting and watching and seeing what will happen. I'd much rather know ahead of time, because I like to know what to expect and try to plan ahead!
And I think, even if you are the most laid back person on all the earth, at some point in time and to some degree, everyone feels the same way. I think it must be part of human nature; this unsuppressable need to know everything that's going on and know what's happening.
We desperately want to know the future. Think about it -- why else would psychics, Ouija boards, and fortune cookies be so popular? We are a society that is obsessed with knowing what the future holds and what our role is in it!
Why is that? Why is it that we can't seem to sit still and wait it out?
Is it a trust issue? Maybe it's hard for us to trust God and believe that His plan is the right plan. I know it's hard for me! There are times when I really struggle with that. I get so caught up in my OWN plans and ideas about the future that I forget to trust God. It's hard to put total faith in God's plan and trust completely that it will work out the way we want...because we so desperately want to believe that WE know best.
And that's where pride comes in.
One of my favorite lines is from a song called "On My Own", it says:
"I have learned that pride comes before the fall."
It's so true. We all too often allow our selfish human pride to get in the way of so much! Think about it: If we weren't so consumed by our pride, we would be able to realize that God DOES know best -- and we DON'T! (Sorry...this is starting to sound like the In Control?? post!)
Listen to what the Bible says on this very topic:
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." -- Jeremiah 29:11
God knows what He's doing. He already knows what's going to happen in our lives. And by following Him, He will give us a future with hope.
"A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." --Proverbs 16:9
And this brings us right back to the idea of our plans vs. God's plans. Imperfection vs. perfection. Ignorance vs. omniscience.... you get the idea.
That doesn't mean it's easy, though! Following God's plan often means forsaking your own plans. And at the time, that can seem the like the scariest, stupidest, most painful, most awful thing to do. And yet, God promises,
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way should go; I will guide you with My eye." --Psalm 32:8
We won't always know where are lives are heading...in fact, we very rarely will. We won't know what God has planned for us, or what He has in store for us. But regardless, we DO know that it will be thoughts of "hope". We know that God's plan for us WILL be the best way.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." --Proverbs 3:5
For more on this subject, I invite you to check out God's Plan for Your Life, which is a great site (written in easily-readable conversation style) that explores how the 1o Commandments help us figure out God's plan for our lives.
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