Revealed Plans

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Before my brother and his wife got married, they made a plan to have a simple wedding. They did not want to spend a lot of money on the wedding so that they could use their resources to start out in life. When they revealed their plan to the family, it did not go over very well with the father of the bride. “I will not allow this. We will have a magnificent banquet.” Anyway, I was at the wedding. And I had a really good time. I can tell you it was not a simple wedding. The father thwarted the plan.

I had a day off, and I planned to leave the house early in the morning and go fishing. I studied the tide chart, the migration of the striped bass, and identified my strategic position on the ocean to catch fish. I ran into a confrère and shared with him my wonderful plan. He said, “You can’t go fishing tomorrow. There is an important meeting.” I said, “What?” He said, “You can go another day.” I told him I could not go another day because I already scheduled work for the other days. Needless to say, my wonderful plan was foiled.

Is it not true? You have a great plan and as soon as you reveal your plan, someone is just itching to mess it up.

It even happens with God. God had a great plan before he created the world. He made a beautiful garden of paradise, and he planned that humans would be with there and be in a constant state of joy there and we would be happy forever. So he created the universe and the humans were invited into the wonderful garden. So what is the first thing that happened after we arrived? We got kicked out because we ruined the plan.

Jesus had a great plan to save the world. He told Peter, “I will suffer die and rise on the third day.” It was a great plan. Yet, Peter said, “Not on my watch.”

So God does not reveal his plans, and I do not blame Him. That is why everything is a mystery. Our suffering is a mystery; our future is a mystery. Why are the simplest things so difficult and complicated? It is a mystery. Look at the Bible. It always describes God as a mystery. That is because God does not reveal his plan, and for good reason.

Do not hate on me here, but we all have to admit that the New England Patriots win many games. Most of these games are won after they have been behind for most of the game. On top of that they have to overcome lots of injuries because they play so aggressively. Then they get rid of their best players because they make too much money. They have horrible draft picks; their trade deals always seem to go bad. Not to mention the scandals. They have more gates than a horse barn (deflate-gate, spy-gate). Despite all the distractions, the difficulties, setbacks, and obstacles, they still know how to overcome it all and win. How? They win because they have great coaching. And what exactly is great coaching? It means they have a plan to win, and no one wants to mess with it.

After the Last Supper, Jesus turned to his Father in prayer. All of the disciples were there listening in on the conversation. Jesus was talking about the plan, the divine plan. We are now in on the plan. There is no mystery because it has been revealed to us. So no matter how hard it gets or difficult it may seem, we all know that God is going to take care of us. Sometimes we forget that God loves a great story, complete with ups and downs. When we are at our lowest, we have to remember that we know the plan, and we have to say. “I am going to let God finish the story.”