God's Plan

Imagine this: 

You're on a road trip with the love of your life, and they tell you they have something special planned. Just trust them. 

Along the way, they stop here and there - a gas station to pick up a few things, a little mini storage barn their family has had for ages, some little hole-in-the-wall you've never heard of. You travel along with excitement, keeping your eyes open to everything, trying to take in every little detail of what you know is going to be a truly magical trip. 

Now, picture this: 

All the same stuff, but it's you and the Uber driver you just met. Someone you summoned to take you from point A to point B suddenly has a bunch of random stops they have to make in between, stops that you don't think have anything to do with you. All of a sudden, you're paying attention, scrutinizing everything, trying to figure out when to make a run for it and what kind of details you might need to give to the cops later...if you're lucky enough to make it out of this whole thing alive and not become the subject of some true crime documentary. 

What's the difference? 

The difference is relationship. 

When you're traveling with someone you trust, someone you know loves you, someone you think about even when they're not in the room and who you know knows all of these special little things about you, you can tolerate a little mystery. In fact, you come to thrive in it. Because you know that underneath it all is love and goodness and something magical that is going to sweep you off your feet. 

When you're traveling with a stranger, someone you just met, someone who doesn't seem to know you at all and you don't know them, it's harder to trust. They could be taking you to the exact same place for the exact same reason, but it won't mean as much...if it means anything at all...and you'll be white-knuckling the whole way through, holding on for dear life to, well, your life. 

Friends, this is the picture of our travels with God. We always recite the verse from Jeremiah - For I know the plans I have for you...but do we trust those plans?

Matthew says God knows the plan, but He only shares it in His own time (1:18-25). Are we in a position to trust that and enjoy the ride? Or are we white-knuckling through our life and faith? 

As in the example above, it has to do with our relationship. 

If we trust God, know Him, know He loves us, think about Him when He's not even in the room and know that He knows all these special little things about us, it's easy to tolerate a little mystery. It's easy to go along for the ride. It's easy to dream in our sanctified imagination about all the things He might be up to, even if right now, all we see is the parking lot of some storage shed He had to stop by for a second. 

If God is a stranger, though.... 

It seems simple, then, doesn't it? 

Nobody wants to end up the subject of a true crime documentary. Especially when the God of all the universe has something truly wonderful planned for you.