God’s Plans

We are now more than 10 weeks into this experience of Covid-19.  Lockdown is easing slightly, and we all have to make more decisions for ourselves about what is ‘safe’.  As someone ‘on the edge of shielding’ my doctor advised me that I should go out for walks, but do not go shopping.  I wonder if she realised what a relief that was? I hate shopping anyway and would rather sit in front of my computer and shop from there!

What is really difficult about this time is not lockdown or not seeing my grandchildren the way I was used to, but controlling my urge to plan ahead – because we just can’t!  Holidays, visiting people, these are all on hold and I think, because of this,  God is teaching me something quite important.
I am a planner – I always keep a diary, I plan meals at least one week ahead and because of a lot of my life has been involved in University teaching, I love timetables. And suddenly because of the impact of this disease all my planning has gone out the window.

The temptation is to develop a new type of planning- putting in place zoom meetings or time when I ring people – all very worthy things, but the reality is that is still me planning and organising and taking control of my life.  Is that what God wants me to do?

From the Bible we can see that God plans.  It was his plan to bring together the people of Israel, it was his plan to come into the world as Jesus just at the time he did. If we look back through our lives, or the lives of others, we can see how God worked at certain times to bring his plans about.  It is He that plans, and somewhere along the line we are part of it.

Proverbs tells us that ‘Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails’ (19:23). So why do we so often plan our lives without reference to Him?  What is amazing is that just at this time He has brought us all to a dead stop.  This gives us time, not to re-plan our lives, and fill them up with things to do – but to talk to him about his purposes for our lives, for our Church here, and for the Church in general.

So, I remind myself do not  just fill up your day with things to do – this is a precious time, a time to hear what God has in mind – and I think we will all be amazed!  After all we are reminded in Jeremiah that God’s plans for us are good:
“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (29:11)
A promise to Jeremiah and to us at the most difficult of times.

So, maybe the time is now to stop doing and start being – allowing God to align us with Him.  For me, for all of us as a church that is what matters.