When your plan doesn't match God's: How to trust God's wisdom and timing
The current devotion is written by Dianna Hobbs, founder of EEW Magazine, as part of her 28 Days of Gratitude blog series. Get more inspiration on her Daily Cup of Inspiration blog.
Scripture of the Day: “…Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 12:1-2 NIV)
These are the words of the prophet Jeremiah as he voices his complaint to God. It didn’t make sense to him that the wicked enemies of the nation of Judah were prospering while he and the people of God suffered.
If you read the whole chapter, you will see that God did respond to Jeremiah’s complaint. He told him, at that time, Judah was being judged for their sin, and eventually, those who were faithless would be destroyed unless they repented. If they turned to God, however, He would show Israel’s enemies mercy too.
Before God answered Jeremiah, the prophet said in verse 3, “Yet you know me, Lord; you see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter!”
Let’s follow Jeremiah’s logic. He basically said, God, they are wicked, and I am righteous, so you should destroy them, and give me relief.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way. These vicious enemies played a role in bringing about divine judgment against Judah, so their prosperity was temporarily allowed by God. But Jeremiah’s discomfort with the situation made it hard for him to see God’s sovereign hand at work, so he complained. He pointed fingers at the enemy and told God, they deserved to be destroyed, but Jeremiah’s plan didn’t match God’s plan.
How do you handle it when your plan doesn’t match God’s plan?
Do you complain? Do you come up with “better” ways God can handle the situation? When you are in uncomfortable circumstances, does your discomfort blind you to God’s sovereignty? Does it make you forget to trust God, and be grateful that He will work it out when the season is right?
God did bring Israel out of bondage, and He repaid their enemies. And just as He did it for Israel, He will do it for you. But you have to let Him handle that His way.
GOD SEES
If you have been faithfully following along with this 28 Days of Gratitude series, then you know that lots of leaders throughout history have felt like God did not see their plight. They, like Jeremiah, were perplexed by God’s inaction or lack of intervention when evildoers were winning.
They wondered, God, are You seeing any of this?
Of course, He saw it back then, and He sees it now. Nevertheless, His response is not always what we think it should be. That’s why it takes faith to believe that God knows exactly what He’s doing, and all things will work together for our good in the end.
Last night, my son Kedar was watching a football game, and one of the athletes viciously attacked a player on the opposing team.
“He should get suspended for that!” my outraged son told me.
In all likelihood, the aggressive player will be penalized for what he did, but that doesn’t always happen, does it?
In the game of life, those who hurt others are not necessarily punished. The unrepentant and unjust do prosper. So then, what do you do? How can you avoid being upset and bitter, discouraged and disillusioned, negative and prone to complaining?
Romans 12:19 teaches us that God avenges wrongs. That’s His job, not ours, and we must trust His timing.
Having said that, focusing on somebody else and what they do or do not deserve is unhealthy. We don’t get to tell God how He should handle them, because we don’t know His plans.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Now it’s time to shift our focus.
What if God gave you what you deserved when you were wrong? Think about a sin you committed in the past? Would you recommend that God judge you harshly and impose a stiff penalty for that or not?
Friend, we all love mercy when we are on the receiving end of it.
If we spent more time thinking about how grateful we are that God didn’t give us what we deserved for our sin, we would spend less time trying to judge and prosecute others for their sin.
To avoid finger-pointing and complaining about what is unfair, unjust, and unacceptable in the lives of others, get a mirror, and look at yourself. Examine your life. Consider your own missteps and bad choices, and think about how God showed you grace and favor anyway.
Do you remember in 2 Samuel 12 when Nathan the prophet told David the story of a rich man who took away a poor man’s only female lamb? Verse 5 says, “David burned with anger against the man,” and he said the man deserved to die!
But when Nathan told David that he was the man represented in the story (because David had stolen his loyal soldier’s wife, got her pregnant, and then had the soldier killed), David wanted mercy.
In direct response to God’s rebuke, David wrote Psalm 51, and in the very first verse, he said, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”
God did have mercy on David, and he brought Jesus Christ the Messiah through David’s lineage. God is just that good to us!
We would all do well to keep in mind that the Lord’s mercy, which endures forever, has been extended to each of us. If we dwelled on that fact, we would be too busy praising and thanking God for His amazing grace to complain about someone else’s unworthiness of it.
JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT
In your journal today, write down:
One reason you are grateful for God’s mercy.
One time when you weren’t your best self, but God loved you anyway.
One Scripture about God’s mercy.
One thing God has done for you today.
One way you are better because God patiently guided you instead of judging you.
Now, let’s pray.
God, when I see injustices, I sometimes feel angry, and I am tempted to point fingers and complain. In these moments, I forget to acknowledge and honor Your wisdom and sovereignty, and I ask for Your forgiveness. Please help me be more mindful of Your grace toward me and grow in my desire to show love and mercy to others in the same measure that I have received it from You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
