Wednesday, September 29, 2010

What do you do when your dream goes bust?

We'll all face a moment when all that we've hoped for and believed in and just 'knew' that God would do falls apart.  What do you do then?


Pete Wilson asks it well on page 9 of his new book, "Plan B".  He asks, "What do you do when God doesn't show up for you in the way you thought God was going to show up?"


On pages 21 he reminds us that, "this is no time to give up on God....
Your dreams may not be happening, and things
are not turning out the way you expected, but that
doesn't mean your life is spinning out of control.
It just means that YOU'RE NOT IN CONTROL.  It's
in those moments you can learn to trust the only one
who has ever had control in the first place."


I can't tell you how many times I've pouted, been upset, gotten mad, ran from God, tried to maniupulate the world to give me what I thought I had to have when I felt let down by God.  It happens when God's time table doesn't match my calendar. It happens when all the 'stuff' that I've been trying to orchestrate to help God do the plan I have in mind crumbles into dust and blows away.  It happens when the dream is still-born after months of preparation, planning, and hard work.  It happens to me all the time.


It doesn't happen as much as it used to, because I've learned that His plan always trumps mine and that even when He's doing things in ways that make no sense to me that He's still on His throne and He's still in control AND, He still loves me and promises to work all things in my favor in the long game -- way out in the future where I have no clue of what's going to happen.  I'm learning to have a deep confidence in the goodness of God and to wait on His provision in the way that He deems best .  More to the point, I'm learning to quit trying to manipulate the world into following my plan for the universe and to simply trust that God is on the move even when it makes no sense to me.  It's a much more peaceful way to live and a whole lot more fun to live with expectation that God is on the move and that He'll take care of me and He'll do the heavy lifting on His timefrrame.  Mostly, it's cool to just walk with God and watch Him do His thing!  


So, what about you?  What are you experiencing that's causing you to want to run or control or manipulate to regain control?  What are you learning about God?  Does your circumstance tempt you to give up on God?


We'll be tackling this whole arena of 'Plan B Living' at Phos Church this Sunday, October 3 at 10 AM over at Oldham County High School.


Jeff Fuson -Point Leader of Phos Church near Louisville Kentucky -Leadership Keynote Speaker -Husband / Daddy -Missional Church Planter

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