Notes of Faith December 15, 2023
Change of Plans
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph.
— Luke 1:26–27 ESV
Have you ever planned an elaborate dinner party only to have your guests cancel? Or spent days anticipating a date with your spouse only to have the babysitter get sick? It’s so disappointing when the best-laid plans go awry.
Women are a planning sort of people. As a whole, we tend to be less of the go-with-the-flow type. We plan births, meals, and wardrobes with great attention to detail. We research and analyze things to death. With that in mind, how can you not have compassion for Mary? The girl was planning a marriage.
Maybe she was deciding what entrée to serve and arranging seating to make sure Aunt Bertha didn’t sit too close to the wine table, or maybe she was writing “Mary loves Joseph” in the dirt with a stick. Scripture makes it clear that when Gabriel showed up, Mary was a betrothed woman.
She surely had some things planned, and those plans did not include giving birth to the Son of God.
Let it be to me according to your word. — Luke 1:38 ESV
We’ve all had times when our plans didn’t work out. Perhaps we thought we would be married by now, yet our Facebook status still reads “single.” Or we always assumed we would still be married right now. We imagined ourselves with a flourishing career, but instead we find ourselves eking out a minimum-wage existence.
We thought we would be doing something else, be with someone else, be someone else. But God had other plans.
Our mistake is that we want to compare our plan with God’s plan. We want to see them side by side and weigh the pros and cons of each. Our best response, however, will always be the same as Mary’s when the angel crashed her wedding plans.
Let it be to me according to your word. — Luke 1:38 ESV
Lord, I like to think that I have everything planned out. Remind me to always leave room in my plans for Your providence.
Excerpted from Devotions from the Front Porch, by Stacy Edwards, copyright Thomas Nelson.
I have learned to be blessed with changes to my plans rather than be frustrated with changes to my plans. God uses all things for His glory and our good, therefore, learning from God’s work in my life has proved to be a joy and great blessing. I’m not saying go with the flow…I personally like to have plans, a calendar to follow, times to attend to…but God! Reflect on the times your plans changed and you experienced great blessing, even if the beginning of the interruption was not so. Be prepared for anything, give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. May you have a blessed day every day you live in Christ!
Pastor Dale