We’ve been having problems with deliveries of certain beverages to our shop, well, to our whole area really. Having gone through the entire weekend with empty fridges wasn’t at all good for business. The supplier had a major problem and had to make contingency plans to keep customers happy, or rather, less upset! Hopefully everything will be going to plan from now on.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” I think “contingency plans” when I read this verse. I know that God has a master plan. We see this in many verses such as Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” And Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” I love this verse. It says that the days of my life were made for me. The days that my life consist of, weren’t just randomly put together, each one of them was planned with me in mind. It is so exceptionally special. Just think about it, you are the reason today is going to be the way it is. In the message it says, “The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.” Remember this on the days you are feeling depressed and you forget that you’re special.
So where do the contingency plans come in? We’ve established that God has a plan. A good plan, something exceptional that’s been made especially just for you because of who you were created to be. But, the problem is, we don’t always go along with that plan. 99% of the time we’re so busy doing life that we forget there even is a plan. We follow our own minds and hearts. Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We have passions that we follow. We often put things above God in our lives. Even when we’ve been Christians for a long time, we sometimes get distracted. We veer off on a path that might not be the original path we were supposed to be on. It’s like going on a long hike, and because we are looking at all the pretty butterflies we miss the trail marker and take the wrong way. By the time we discover that we’re not on the right road we first have to backtrack to the original place we were and then find the right way. That’s where God’s contingency comes in. He takes the mess we made and turns it on its head and makes good out of our bad. I don’t think it’s always our fault that the original plan didn’t work out. We could be affected by bad choices that others make. But, whatever the reason, God takes the whole situation, creates good, and puts us back onto the path again. How does He do this? I have no idea, but He is God and He can and He does. Because He loves us.
In Luck 15 Jesus tells the parable of the man who had a hundred sheep and one got lost. The man left the 99 to go and look for the one that was lost. He carried it back home on his shoulders and rejoiced with his friends and neighbors. Also in Luke 15 is the parable of the lost coin and the lost son. The stories illustrate how much God loves us and how precious we are to Him. I am so touched by the amount of love He lavishes on us and I never want to disappoint Him, yet I do! But He comes looking for me and picks me up and carries me home every time. Only a God who is 100% holy could love us enough to come after us when we wander away. Revelation 4:8 and 11, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come. You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and Honor and power; for You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were create.”
Let us sing praises to the Lord for His great mercy.
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