Why?
“A man’s heart plans his way, but
the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9)
The Book of Acts is very interesting. It touches on some
of the “Why?” questions there are in life. We don’t always know “Why?” but we
discover in Acts, Proverbs and other places that the surprising things in our
lives are not unusual. For example, it’s a problem when we try to do some good
thing for the Lord or some other person, and it seems like our “good thing” is
not received. In Acts 16:6-7, we find that the Apostle Paul had just that
problem: he wanted to do a good
thing, but was PREVENTED by the Lord from doing it! – Here’s the way it
reads: “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the
region of Galatia, they were FORBIDDEN by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in
Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but THE
SPIRIT DID NOT PERMIT THEM.” Paul wanted to “Go
into ALL the world and preach the gospel to every creature” as the Lord
had commanded (Mark 16:15), but he was told “No,” and was “forbidden”
by the Lord from doing what we are called to do. To his credit, Paul simply
“bounced” away from his original intention (going to the east), and turned to
the west, to Macedonia, in Europe, where he led many to Christ in the power of
God. You have your ideas; God has His – It's hard for us to learn, but the best in life is when we
do things HIS way!
Isaiah 53 and its context is a direct prophesy of the
advent, crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, written hundreds
of years before His arrival on earth. Isaiah 53:5 contains the words, “by
His (“Christ’s”) stripes we are healed,” and
the word for “healed” in that verse is a form of
the Hebrew word, “raphah,” which refers to not only
physical, but also spiritual healing. The Apostle Paul was well-acquainted with
that section of Isaiah, but when he called out to the Lord “three
times” for the “thorn in the flesh” that
troubled him to be taken away, he was told “NO!” – “My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness”
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Paul’s response should be of great interest to every
one of us. He said, “Therefore most gladly I will rather
boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me…
for when I am weak (in myself)
I am strong” (in the Lord). God’s definition of “healed”
(“raphah”) was different than Paul expected, but he
trusted in the Lord and received something better than he requested.
The Lord Jesus, on the night He was to be crucified,
reasonably called out in His distress, “Father, if it is
Your will, remove this cup from Me,” and then He continued, “Nevertheless
not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). The “cup”
He referred to was the agony He was about to experience, where He would not only
suffer pain, humiliation and death, but even more horrifying, He was to bear
your sins and mine on that thing called the “cross.” The Father loved the Son,
but answered “No” to His request because God’s love also extends to you and me.
The will of God was that the Son must die so we may live. Jesus, responding to
the will of the Father, went with His captors and died for our sins.
You may have a distinct PLAN for your life. Or you may
be as I was for so many years, not knowing WHAT you are doing or WHERE you are
going. Many just want to LIVE! and do it in such a way that life will bring you
and yours – happiness! But our Scripture for today is compelling. Whether or not
you have a program for your future, and you probably do, even if it’s just that
you want to have a good time - the Lord also has a plan that is likely quite
different than yours. As it states in today’s verse, “A
man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs
16:9).
At the convalescent home where I teach on Thursday
mornings, we have been privileged to meet many wonderful and heroic people.
Society may not always consider them heroes, but they are. We’ve met Yvonne and
John, who work as volunteers in the Plum Blossom Café on the first floor. Yvonne has cancer and
even though her bouts with chemotherapy have been awful, she says of God: “He
will heal me.” John, who works with Yvonne at the Plum Blossom, has some
kind of physical disorder that’s never been diagnosed. It’s debilitating, and
both Yvonne and John have been weakened by their conditions. Yet they reach out
and comfort as many as possible. They encourage Grace, Tom, Richard and
many others, modeling faith to the ill and elderly by continuing to trust in the
Lord, even though their own situations are very bad.
John and Yvonne have a deep concern for those who live
there. John said, “I have just a glimmer of understanding
about what happens to them,” continuing, “I miss
them terribly when I am in the hospital and am not with them.” He spoke
with concern about a “relatively young man - his wife has
cancer.” We already had become acquainted with Tom, a man in his 40's,
a former truck driver who fell asleep while driving a few years ago, and hit a
brick wall with his big rig. John and Yvonne care deeply for Tom. You’ll be
interested that Tom accepted Christ a short time ago and is trying to read his
Bible.
Our friend, Grace, is 91, and she has lost a lot. Her
vision is mostly gone and her husband passed on several years ago. I asked Grace
what she thinks about all this and here is her response: “So
WHAT if I can’t see? So WHAT if I can’t read anymore? So WHAT if I can’t write
or drive a car? So WHAT? They’re not necessary. I don’t even miss those things
because God has provided so much more. Look at how many people come and read to
me. Look at my daughter, who does my books...” And she continues with
great passion about the many “blessings” God has
indeed given to her. You should note that Grace operates a motorized wheelchair
and visits thirty people in the facility every day, comforting them with
words that come from the love of God expressed to us in Christ Jesus.
Tom and Grace are in wheelchairs, like most who live in
that facility, and their counterparts are in the millions throughout the world.
None of us would choose to be incapacitated; and note that Yvonne, John and the
rest would really like to be healed right now! But they are willing to follow
God and help others who are in need, no matter what life brings.
God the Son gave everything, dying on the cross for your
sins. He has saved us from sin and death – forever. Your life is HIS. And
whether we see it or not, “the Lord
(IS directing our) steps.” Most feel that
they have certain “rights” in life, and if they are not handsome, beautiful,
rich, talented, well-accepted by others, intelligent, creative and famous,
they’ve been short-changed! “A man’s heart plans his way,”
feeling that his (or her) rights were violated if life isn’t “his
way.” But right now – Let’s give “our way” to Him who has a better plan
than we do; trusting in His love for you and me:
Father, “my way” isn’t working out. I trust in Your
Way. In Jesus Name. Amen.
