Our Plan, God's Plan

Life is a culmination of experiences that derive from our calling, culture and choices. We are each created for a divine purpose, born into a particular cultural setting and given the freedom to make a series of choices along the way that either cooperates with or frustrates God's plan for our lives.  From the creation story through to the birth of the early church Scripture reveals how God's plan constantly collides with human will, causing unintended speed humps and detours along the journey towards God's intended purpose for His people. 

God's plan for Adam and Eve was to live in the perfection of the Garden of Eden, but they chose the tree of knowledge over the tree of life resulting in their banishment from the garden and the curse of death.

God's plan for the Hebrews was to deliver them from slavery in Egypt so they could take possession of the promised land, but their disobedience left them wandering in the desert for 40 years before the next generation received their inheritance.

God's plan for Israel was to love the Lord God with all their heart and soul and to be obedient to His commands, but they rejected God as their King and asked for a king like the other nations to rule over them, ultimately leading to the division and exile of a nation.

God's plan for the early church was to go into all the world to make disciples of all nations, but they remained in Jerusalem provoking an outbreak of persecution that scattered the disciples throughout Judea and Samaria to advance the Great Commission.

It seems to me that God's plan for our lives is far more direct than we give Him credit for and any deviation along the way is more often than not to do with human attitudes and actions than divine arrangement. Whether that be the impact of our own choices or the choices of others or the influence of our culture, our divine calling is diverted when our humanity obstructs God's intended pathway.

I was therefore interested in a diagram I saw recently on Facebook that suggests our plan is a direct pathway to our chosen destination, whereas God's plan takes us over and through many obstacles to reach His desired destination. The second part of the diagram (b), supposedly representing "God's Plan," may indeed be more closely aligned to the reality of life than the first part (a), but I'm not convinced that it reflects God's intended REALITY or plan.  To do so would suggest that it is God's plan for us to take the long and hard way to accomplish His will on earth and infers that He intentionally puts obstacles in our way or makes the way unclear!

In contrast, the psalmist prayed, "Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies - make straight your way before me" (Psalm 5:8).  The wisdom literature exhorted, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6).  The prophet declared, "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God" (Isaiah 40:3).  The gospel records Jesus saying, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No-one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The apostle writes, "Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure.  For if you do these things, you will never fall" (2 Peter 1:10).

It seems inconsistent with God's plan for humankind for Him to make the pathway so difficult and uncertain.  However, it is entirely consistent with God's pattern for Him to use the difficulties and uncertainty, caused by the fallenness of humanity, to demonstrate His grace and mercy.  Despite ourselves God's plan cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2, Psalm 33:10-11, Proverbs 19:21) and "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).  Scripture also tells us that these speed humps and detours in life can be used by God as a laboratory for learning and growth (2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 2 Peter 1:3-8).  

So, when we experience reality that looks a little like the pathway in diagram (b), let us be careful not to accredit to God something that is more likely to be the result of our choices and/or circumstances.  Let us instead acknowledge God's presence within that reality and realign ourselves with His intended REALITY (Romans 12:1-2).  Let us pursue the plan God has chosen for us (Philippians 3:13-14) and remember that it is "the thief [who] comes only to steal and kill and destroy" but Jesus has "come that [we] may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  (Jeremiah 29:11)

Making A Difference!

Dr. Frank Napier: "The truth is that for all your talking, all your 'Crazy Joe' routine, what have you ever done? Nothing. You're nothing but an insignificant man. It's like you were never born. Your life hasn't made one bit of difference, and neither has mine. Wanna take that to the grave?"

The above quote is taken from an exchange between the city's school superintendent Dr Frank Napier and a school principal Joe Clark in the 1989 movie Lean On Me.  Dr. Napier challenges Joe Clark to accept a job as principal at a failing high school to help turn their test scores around before the state takes over the school.  This is an inspiring film about what can happen when a person dares to believe they really can make a difference.

I wonder how others will evaluate my life when I go to the grave?  What difference will my life have made?  When I accepted God's call upon my life to become a Salvation Army Officer I pursued a life of significance and dared to believe that by God's help I really could make a difference.  I refused to settle for a life of mediocrity and just accept the world as it is.  I took Jesus commission to "go into the world and make disiples of all nations" seriously and had the audacity to believe that what happened at Pentecost could actually happen today!  

While not everybody is called to full time ministry in The Salvation Army, I do believe that everybody is called to a life of significance.  I do believe that everybody can make a difference when they commit their lives to God's purposes.  I do believe that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things in His name.  You and I have the power to write our epitaph today by the life we choose to live so that our lives may be remembered for the difference they have made in the lives of others.  What ever you choose to do with your life, don't settle for a life of a lesser purpose!

Off To Work?

Over the past several months I have felt a growing dissatisfaction in my spirit with the language that I and other Salvation Army Officers use to describe who we are and what we do. 

In an attempt to bridge the communication gap between the quasi-military culture of The Salvation Army and Australian culture when explaining who I am as an "officer", I have described myself as a pastor, minister, church leader or minister of religion.  While these titles capture elements of what I do, they don't adequately describe who I am as a Salvation Army Officer. 

When it comes to discussing what I do in casual conversation, the reference to 'my work' or 'going to work' grates against the very heart of my calling as a Salvation Army Officer.  Let me be clear, this is not because I have an aversion to work!  I have a strong work ethic that borderlines on compulsive (according to those closest to me).  Although, the term 'work' flows naturally off my tongue, it feels like an inadequate term that reduces my divine calling into a dutiful career.  Maybe this tension between calling and career is because I am so passionate about what I do that I can't separate it from who I am. 

Is it just a matter of semantics?  I don't think so, because language is powerful.  Our choice of words are often a window into our soul revealing the heart of who we are as people.  Jesus reminded us of this when he said, "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).  So when I communicate about something as significant as the fulfillment of my calling, I am no longer content to default to language that will simply align who I am and what I do with what is familiar in a religious or social context.  I want to find and use language that casts a powerful vision of God's mission to the present age through The Salvation Army.

One of the best examples I have read of a church leader communicating effectively who he is and what he does is Erwin McManus, the lead pastor of Mosaic Church in Los Angeles.  He describes himself as a Cultural Architect, which suggests that his role is not about trying to keep up with the current culture, but reshaping it through influence and innovation.  It is any wonder that his church has been named as "one of the most influential and innovative churches in America."

While I have yet to discover how I best communicate who I am and what I do as a Salvation Army Officer in concise and compelling language, I do know that being referred to as a 'minister of religion' and 'going to work' just doesn't cut it!  I am privileged to be a part of a select few who are "CALLED BY GOD to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as an officer of The Salvation Army" and embrace this calling as a lifestyle not a job!

So, I do not get up and go to work, instead I get up and enter the mission field "to live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of my life."

I Have Pleasure In His Service

This weekend in the Australia Southern Territory of The Salvation Army is the commissioning and ordination of new Officers for full-time leadership and ministry.  It is a significant event that marks the beginning of a covenant "to love and serve [God] supremely all my days, to live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of my life, to care for the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the unlovable, and befriend those who have no friends, to maintain the doctrines and principles of The Salvation Army, and, by God's grace to prove myself a worthy officer."

As I reflect back upon my own Commissioning weekend 16 years ago, I remember standing before the congregation at the Melbourne Town Hall taking turns to declare a one line testimony as we stood on the threshold of an adventure of a lifetime.  From the words penned by Ruth Tracy in The Salvation Army song book, I testified that "I have pleasure in His service, more than all, more than all."  I can say to you with the same wide-eyed confidence of a newly commissioned Officer ready to change the world, that this is as true today as it was when I first spoke it out.  The only difference between then and now is that today these words have the credibility of experience.  

So, when I say "I have pleasure in His service, more than all" it is in the context of leadership challenges, ministry failures, spiritual attacks and personal cost.  Yet, at the same time it is with a clear vision of the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit who radically transforms lives through the grace of Jesus Christ.

I have pleasure in seeing the LORD honoured and glorified

I have pleasure in seeing the LOST redeemed

I have pleasure in seeing the LIVES of broken people transformed

I have pleasure in seeing LEADERS equipped and empowered

My pleasure in His service is not conditional upon the realities of leadership and minsitry, but more than all upon an unshakeable calling and a passionate belief that I really can make a difference.

Zealous For The Lord

About midway through my Officership, while undertaking a review process, I was described as being too passionate and intense and it was suggested that I may want to consider being a little less zealous in my ministry and leadership.  The suggestion of being any less passionate than how God has wired me is unthinkable in my mind and incompatable with my spirit!

John Maxwell, in his book “Put Your Dream to the Test,” articulates well what I feel about this perception of being too passionate, “I have never seen anyone anywhere at any time achieve anything of any value without the spark of passionate desire!  It provides the energy that makes dreams possible.”

I am a driven person and for a period of my training to be an Officer I was almost led to be convinced that this was somehow a negative quality.  But when I discovered that my drive was an Holy Spirit zeal to pursue God’s calling upon my life with every fibre of my being, I rejected that lie and embraced the person the Spirit had empowered me to be!

Zealous means enthusiastic, eager, passionate, intense.
Zealous means full of, characterized by, or due to zeal; ardently active, devoted, or diligent.

A person who is zealous passionately pursues that which they are devoted to!

In Matthew 22:37 Jesus told his disciples to “Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind.”  Fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ are zealous people!

The problem with zealous people is that they live in a largely apathetic world, where apathy is the antithesis of zeal. 

Apathy means a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern – indifference.
An apathetic person has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical and/or physical life. 

What happens when zeal and apathy collides? 

As a person who has been “Zealous for the Lord” throughout my life since childhood, it has been my painful experience that the collision between zeal and apathy often brings opposition, misunderstanding and judgement from others.  It also creates a "Holy Discontent" within that remains dissatisfied with the status quo.

In Scripture, the prophet Elijah had been “Zealous for the Lord” in a familiar story about his confrontation with the prophets of Baal.  What was a monumental display of prophetic power in Elijah’s life (a legacy of his prophetic leadership), became a struggle with fear and depression as he faced a full-frontal attack against his leadership.  This mighty man of faith became crippled by fear.  Yet, beyond Elijah's encounter with God in the "gentle whisper" at the cave, it is what God spoke into Elijah's life that provides us with prophetic wisdom for those who experience opposition for being "Zealous for the Lord"

"And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” 

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." (1 Kings 19:9-13)
 

1.  Remain in the PRESENCE OF THE LORD 

God’s COVENANT does not change during times of suffering and opposition.

“As I was with Moses so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Joshua 1:5)

Whenever human beings go through a period of conflict or struggle, there is a tendency to withdraw from the places where we draw strength and try to manage our circumstances on our own.  This is true for social connections with others as well as our spiritual connection with God.  Rather than withdrawing from God's presence in these times (if that is at all possible?), it is essential to remain in the PRESENCE OF THE LORD.  However, our desire or ability to remain in God's presence during conflict and opposition is dependent upon the patterns and habits that are in place when life is good.  If you don't have the pattern of prayer and being in the Word when the path is smooth, then the chances are you won't go there when the path is rugged!  

Jesus remained in the PRESENCE OF THE LORD in the Garden of Gethsemane which empowered him to face the pain and struggle of the cross.


"Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. 

When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.  Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.  Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:14-18)



2.  Return to the PLACE OF ANOINTING 

God’s CALLING does not change during times of suffering and opposition. 

“Repent and do the things you did at first.”  (Revelation 2:5)

This tendency to withdraw during times of conflict also manifests itself in relation to pursuing God's calling or purpose.  I have seen way too many godly leaders abandon the pathway of duty when things get tough!  God's direction to Elijah to "go back the way you came" was a call to return to the PLACE OF ANOINTING to realign with God's purposes.  In difficult times it is easy to lose perspective and passion for what God has called you to do.  Returning to the PLACE OF ANOINTING restores our passion and renews our purpose to be ZEALOUS FOR THE LORD!  

In the PRESENCE OF THE LORD in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus returned to the PLACE OF ANOINTING and was able to say, "Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:36)

 
“It is not incidental that the death of Jesus has come to be known as the Passion. The cross of Jesus Christ points to everything that God is passionate about. God the Son so passionately hates the destructive force of sin that He was willing to die to overcome it. And He so passionately loves humanity that He was willing to give even His own life on our behalf. You know what you are really passionate about when you are willing to lay you life down for it.” (Erwin Raphael McManus, “Uprising”)