Note: At the time these words were written we had been working for nearly a year preparing to launch actionchurch. We had reserved a spot at York Fair to “announce” our new church starting in November…but at that time we STILL had not been able to secure a venue. In spite of our best efforts, Fat Daddys Nightclub (and everyone else) had rejected every offer… Things seemed hopeless. Every scenario I had imagined for actionchurch to launch seemed to be failing. Two weeks later, EVERYTHING CHANGED . Three years later, as our deadline to secure a new venue and vacate Club 19 looms, I am so glad to be able to look back and remind myself that God NEVER does things the way WE PLAN. His plans are so much better!
(Originally posted 8/11/2007) I love Chris Farley in Tommy Boy. One of my favorite lines from the movie is “Let me tell you how I suck!”. Confession is good for the soul so I thought I’d share something I have really been “sucking” at lately…
The Bible says:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
I’m getting better everyday at “trusting in the Lord with all my heart”. Not because I am such a great guy, or wonderful “christian”, but because I have seen God do such amazing things over the years that even a “dummy” like me sort of just expects God to do what he says! I just realized yesterday though, that I am not doing so well in the “lean not on your own understanding” department.
I realized that whenever God gives me a vision for something that he is going to do I immediately begin “creating” hundreds of scenarios in my mind about how God will do it. I try to figure out how he will pay for it, how the events will fall in place, who will be involved etc. I am certainly not saying that as a leader I shouldn’t plan or think strategically. I just realized that every time I am discouraged or disappointed it is not because God is not doing what he said he would…It’s because he’s not fitting in to any of my scenarios I have created! God doesn’t do things “right”…or at least not the way I thought he would!
I’m going to concentrate on trusting God and being obedient…I’m going to spend a whole lot less time trying to figure out how he plans to “get it done”. I am going to “acknowledge him” and let him “make my paths straight”. It turns out he doesn’t need my “help” on figuring out how it’s all gonna work out…Can you relate?