When God Changes Our Plans
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:” (Job 38:1 ESV)
Everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly. A few buddies of mine were driving through town on a mini-tour and wanted to add an extra show here in Dallas. Some friends of ours offered up their home for a House Show and they invited me to play with them. The word was out, the chairs and sofas arranged cozily in their living room. It had been a while since I played a show, so I was very excited.
And then the weather started to change. We knew there were storms and tornado warnings north of us, but we didn't think they would go as south as Dallas. As I was driving down to the House Show, the tornado watch turned into a tornado warning. Reports of grapefruit size hail came streaming over the radio. Needless to say, apart from a few faithful fans (my wife and baby son included), nobody came. Instead of a reunion with friends and a night of music, we huddled into the bathroom and strummed our guitars to pass the time while two tornadoes passed north and south of us.There is nothing like a massive storm with hail, tornadoes, and an electric sky to trivialize man's plans. God has a tendency of changing plans. For me, it was a foiled house show. For others, it was a destroyed house, a totaled car, and even a lost life.This month I've been reading through the book of Job. Job had big plans. He had a great family, large amounts of wealth, and above all, a good standing with God. He was described as a man of deep integrity and character.And then, seemingly out of the blue, God changed Job's plans. In a day, everything he had was taken away from him. For the rest of the book, the friends who came to comfort him try to offer him explanations. They were not surprised by the fact that God changed Job's plans; however, all of their reasons were contingent upon something Job did.It is easy for us to look to God and thank him when he changes our plans for the better. But when our hopes are destroyed, when our goals are cut short, praise is not our first response. Just like Job and his friends, when tragedy strikes, when the seeming injustice of bad things happening to good people confronts us, we immediately start to question God. Job's friends continuously asked him what he did wrong. When the housing market implodes, when senseless violence takes a life, when an entire city is cut in half by a tornado, we ask God, "Why? What did we do wrong?"
There is no doubt that God has a tendency to bless people who seek him and punish those who don't. But this is not a rule. It is easy to forget in the midst of our self-important plans that this world exists for God. Sometimes we can find the quiet place to hear God in the whisper, but often times he has to speak to us through the whirlwind. Sometimes we just need a reminder that the God we worship and serve, the God who reigns over all of us, is bigger than any and all of the plans we can make.As I was looking through the window as the storm grew around us, I was mesmerized by the power. In thirty short minutes, God snapped me out of my pettiness and reminded me that He was not safe. He reminded me that he doesn't act according to karma, but he acts according to his sovereign and holy will. So what should we do when God changes our plans? Should we analyze our past, weigh our deeds and try to figure out where we went wrong?Or should we look up at the storm and cry, "What a mighty God we serve?"
“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” (Psalms 115:3 ESV)