Plan B Day by Day - Genesis 17

I encourage you to read the whole chapter.

Abram and Sarai wanted children desperately.  They tried in every way they could to take control of their lives and make it happen.  But instead they only managed to create strife and confusion.

Even as God continued to affirm that He had a great Plan for their family, Abraham pleaded with God - tried to convince God - that Ishmael would fulfill the promise God had made.

Abraham wanted his plan over God's Plan!

Maybe many of us aren't so blunt with God - to imply that we have a better plan than God's.  And often we don't have as clear a vision as Abraham was given.  Still, we blindly beg God for our plans - a spouse, a child, a job (you fill in the blank) thinking these things or persons will fulfill us. (No beating up here - we ALL (or most) do it.)

God doesn't tell us not to ask.  Even Jesus made a bold request on the night before his death.  But the postlude to Jesus' prayer should be on out lips as well -  "Yet, not my will but yours be done . . ."  A prayer of relinquishment.  A "Plan B" prayer.

God gave Abram and Sarai new names - a do over.  Another chance to affirm His plan for their lives.  And amazingly, they continued to discount God's possibility for them.  But God never gave up on them.

And that's a lesson for all of us.

God never gives up on us.


Some questions to reflect on.  Comments welcome.

Has there been a time in your life when you tried to convince God to accept you Plan A?

What emotions did you experience?

How do you feel now when you recall that experience?

What might God have been saying to you at that time?

Plan B Day by Day - Genesis 12-16

Abram and Sarai are the poster-children for Plan B living.

God specifically gave them an A Plan.

"Pack up and move and I'll let you know when you get there. . . . and I'm going to turn your descendants into a great nation."

The childless couple waited ten years.  Then started Plan B.  Hagar, Sarai's servant, would bear Abram a child.  Even though God reiterated that this NOT THE PLAN.

Nevertheless, Abram married Hagar, had a son, Ishmeal, at which point family dynamics exploded and Hagar and Ishmael are exiled by Sarai.

They later all end up starring on an episode of Jerry Springer.

No, not really, but this is THE couple who God chose as the founders of Judaism?!?

If you have time, you should read the whole story.

I love that the Bible - God's story - isn't sanitized or prettied up.  Heroes and founders are fallible.  All to show God's grace in great detail.

God remains faithful.

God's "steadfast love" never fails.

You should never let God's mercy not amaze you.

Here's some questions to reflect on.  I encourage you to share your thoughts.

When can you recall attempting to force your dream into reality?

In what ways did the results show you that control is only an illusion?

What have you learned from this experience?

Are you more eager and able to accept God's plan for your life?

Plan B Day by Day - Psalm 142

Another hymn by David.

Another song of disappointment.

Another opportunity for David to teach us the way to healing.

I cry out to the Lord;
     I plead for the Lord’s mercy.
I pour out my complaints before him
     and tell him all my troubles.
When I am overwhelmed,
    you alone know the way I should turn. (v 1-3)

You are not alone.  You are not the only one with disappointment or pain.  Whether it is a fresh wound or long healed over, God knows the way you should turn.  He's the only one.

It is critical that you work on your relationship daily, so that when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil.  You will turn to the Source, the Guide, the Healer.

Name your pain.  Go to God with it.  God has an answer, even in the silence.  God has an Answer - Yeshua the Messiah knows pain and disappointment.  He knows the way you should turn.

Plan B Day by Day - Psalm 13

Have you discovered a pattern yet?

Life rarely turns out as planned.

David dealing with enemies and defeat and wondering where God was in this mess.

David is secure enough in his relationship with God to question God's silence.

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
     How long will you look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
     with sorrow in my heart every day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

 David is secure enough in his relationship with God to demand action.

     Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
     Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

David is secure enough in his relationship with God because they have a history of God's faithfulness and goodness.

But I trust in your unfailing love.
     I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord
     because he is good to me.

Do you sing to the Lord?  Is He good to you?  Has he been in the past?  He will be again.

If you are in the middle of crisis, find your voice.  Both to talk to God and to sing through your sadness.

Plan B Day by Day - Psalm 31

Broken.

Psalm 33 may represent the lowest moment is David's life.  He's tired and depressed and feels like the whole world is against him.

Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress.
Tears blur my eyes.
My body and soul are withering away.
I am dying from grief;
my years are shortened by sadness.
Sin has drained my strength;
I am wasting away from within.
I am scorned by all my enemies
and despised by my neighbors—
even my friends are afraid to come near me.
When they see me on the street,
they run the other way.
I am ignored as if I were dead,
as if I were a broken pot. (v :9-12)

But David always remembers his Source.

But I am trusting you, O Lord . . . (v 14)

David, King of Israel, had, at his disposal, armies, chariots . . .

But David's battle was internal - a wrestling with mind and soul.

Only God can heal the soul.

And David knew this and like he had so many times before, the turned to the Healer.

We don't know how long David had to wait, but God did answer.

Praise the Lord, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
He kept me safe when my city was under attack.
In panic I cried out,
“I am cut off from the Lord!”
But you heard my cry for mercy
and answered my call for help.
So be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord! (v 21-22,24)

It's not about your strength and abilities.

It's not about your control.

Freedom comes with the realization that God is your strength.

Everyone needs healing.

God is our Healer.

Plan B Day by Day - Psalm 69

Ever feel like you are drowning?  When stuff in life feels like an engulfing flood?

David in Psalm 69 uses incredible imagery in describing his situation and cry for help.

Save me, O God,
for the floodwaters are up to my neck.
Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire;
I can’t find a foothold.
I am in deep water,
and the floods overwhelm me.3 I am exhausted from crying for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes are swollen with weeping,
waiting for my God to help me. - Psalm 69:1-3

No rosy picture. No pretending that life is "fine" like we so often offer when asked "how you doing?"

But once again, David turns to what he knows is true - that God is bigger than his predicament.

But I keep praying to you, Lord,
hoping this time you will show me favor.
In your unfailing love, O God,
answer my prayer with your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mud;
don’t let me sink any deeper!
Save me from those who hate me,
and pull me from these deep waters.
Don’t let the floods overwhelm me,
or the deep waters swallow me,
or the pit of death devour me.
Answer my prayers, O Lord,
for your unfailing love is wonderful.
Take care of me,
for your mercy is so plentiful.
Don’t hide from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble! - Psalm 69:13-17

When life gets difficult where do you turn for help?

Family? friends? a counselor? the government?

Do you "take care of it yourself?"

We can and should, like David, cry out to God in our vulnerability.

Are you surprised by David's honesty about his situation and with God?  Do you have that kind of relationship with God?  How can having this freedom to call out to God honestly, change the way you deal with life when it doesn't go as planned?honest with God


engulfingPsalm 69:1-3, 13-1, like David

Plan B Day by Day - Psalm 22

Everyone needs healing.

The Psalms - Israel's hymnbook - are a compilation of song-writers pouring our their innermost thoughts and feelings to God.  Some were highest praise.  Some questioned God's presence in times of despair and depression.  This should comfort us.  We are not alone.  Even King David, a man after God's own heart, battled inner demons.  He poured out his pain and his trust in God in Hebrew poetry.

Psalm 22 was one such hymn.

¹ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
    Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
² Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
    Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man.
    I am scorned and despised by all!
⁷ Everyone who sees me mocks me.
    They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
⁸ “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
    Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
    let the Lord rescue him!”

¹⁴ My life is poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
    melting within me.
¹⁵ My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
    My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
    You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
¹⁶ My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
    an evil gang closes in on me.
    They have pierced my hands and feet.
¹⁷ I can count all my bones.
    My enemies stare at me and gloat.
¹⁸ They divide my garments among themselves
    and throw dice for my clothing.

O Lord, do not stay far away!

You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!

²⁴ For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
    He has not turned his back on them,
    but has listened to their cries for help.

³⁰ Our children will also serve him.
    Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
³¹








 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
    They will hear about everything he has done.

When was the last time you felt your cries to God went unheard or unanswered? Do you feel that way right now?

In Psalm 22, David looks back at God's faithfulness and forward into God's promises. Spend some time reflecting on how God has been faithful to you. Search Scripture to find a God-promise (or two) that you can hold onto during times of crisis.