Twisting Away From God’s Plans

Who doesn’t rejoice over the beautiful, abundant seasons with God? We feel so in synch when we are reasonably happy with our circumstances and in harmony with His plans and purposes. But before we know it, we find ourselves running with scissors, twisting away from God’s plans. How on Earth did we end up there? How does one end up going from cloud nine to the bottom of the abyss?Out of our deep love for the Lord comes a desire to please Him and do what He asks us to do, at least in general. But there are times in our walk when He makes it clear He wants us to do something that is wildly out of our comfort zone. Jonah learned it well when he ignored God’s plan for him to travel to a place of great need.

I took my 18 month-old son to be tested for developmental delays. A team of educators were assembled to evaluate him. We exchanged verbal pleasantries and the testing began. Most of what they said to me was white noise except for the words “he probably has autism.”

This blog entry is excerpted and adapted from “The Trap Door: Embracing God’s Divine Deliverance.” This 10-week study, the second in Cindy’s door devotional trilogy, is now available on Amazon.

Child Abandonment?!

As my son and I walked out of the testing room and onto a grassy knoll on that spring day, a cool breeze blew through my hair. The beauty of that clear day was in sharp contrast to the cloudy unknowns present in my tomorrows. Hot tears soared down my cheeks. Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks. A chilling thought passed through my mind. Let go of his hand and walk away from him. The frustration and heartache over all that would not be washed over me. A tidal wave of nausea hit the pit of my stomach. Pangs of guilt from the hypocrisy of not caring whether or not I birthed my children hit home hard. Of course, the notion of letting go was illogical, inconceivable and illegal, but in that millisecond I must admit it was tempting.

Intellectually, I knew some of what would lie ahead in raising him. Tempter tantrums, special schooling, substantial physical and academic challenges, for starters. And the death of a thousand dreams. Thankfully, the Lord filled me with the strength and courage to resist temptation that day, as well as several others throughout the course of my son’s life to date. There have been countless times I wanted to throw up my hands and walk away from God’s plan or amend it to suit my needs. Although God did not let me walk away from the burden, He does remind me daily to lay it down and lean on Him. He also provided a handful of His servants who come alongside me every day to help me accomplish God’s plan as I lean into them.

The First Temptation of Christ

God stood by His son in the same way. When Jesus stood on top of a mountain in His early days of ministry, Satan tempted Him to jump off and rely on God to “save” him as recorded in Matthew 4. This kind of temptation, the desire to put an end to the suffering a person thinks is to come, resonates so deeply with me. I confess I have sat in my closed garage with the car engine running for a few moments, part of me just wishing I didn’t have to face one more day of my problems. The Enemy carefully chooses the most ideal timing, ambience, “characters” and situations to optimize his chances of success. He wants you to fail!

Your Temptations

Take a moment to ask yourself which situations in your life might prompt you to twist away from God. It may be a small stakes thing or something more crucial. Or Satan may get a foothold in a fault line of your path and create a lethal tremor.  He wants you to feel the sting of failure and to forgot that there is no condemnation in Christ, as Paul reminds us in Romans 8:1. He wants you to think that just because you have heard and entertained the temptation that you have already fallen and can’t get up. But you can stand. You can resist the devil and he will flee from you as we read in James 3:7. While he is eager for you to make your first misstep, God stands in the gap with His merciful arms outstretched.

Our Almighty Advocate

God faithfully remains by you and me every day as we face His larger plans and journey with Him as He lays out His purposes. We’re often tempted to twist away from it all. To run with scissors,  not realizing the dangers of resisting what He wants for our lives. But if we permit Him, He will graciously steer us back on course . He will then guide and direct us. When we submit, we show God we trust Him about how to best live out our lives to accomplish His way in and with us. As I trust Him, I know He will help me hold onto all the hands he’s entrusted to me. And He will continue to hold onto mine to see me to the end of my journey. He will do the same for you if you hand Him an all access permission slip.

Keys to Kingdom Living: Resist amending God’s plans and conform your will to His.

Doorpost: “But the plans of the Lord stand firm, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” Psalm 33:11.