The Lord Will Provide

Two weeks from today I'll be boarding a plane (several, in fact) en route to a country in the near east for a mission trip. Although I'm excited about going, I'm also a little apprehensive--not so much about the trip itself, but more about the time leading up to the trip. In addition to the amount of preparation for the trip, I'm also dealing with a great amount of work that needs to be done at the office before I leave. Over the next week alone we've got video shoots, a golf tournament, and a publication that has to be finished, proofed and sent to the printer, in addition to other ongoing projects. To say that I'm feeling overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement.

In the months leading up to this trip, I've come across many Bible verses that describe God's provision. One of my favorite passages is from Isaiah:

When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it. (Isaiah 41:17-20)

What I love about this passage is the fact that God is described as bringing something from nothing--rivers and fountains of water where there was desert, trees where there was barren land. In the time where refreshment is needed the most (and where it seems unlikely to happen), God comes through. I believe that He's still in the business of coming through in difficult circumstances and unexpected ways.

Throughout this entire time leading up to the trip, God has provided time and time again. I was concerned about raising enough money for the trip--God provided in some really crazy, really amazing ways. I was worried about traveling overseas for two weeks with a group of people I didn't know--God provided one of my very best friends as an unexpected addition to our team.

And now, as I am tempted repeatedly to worry and fret over how on earth I'm going to get everything done at work that needs to be done before I go, I'm once again reminded that God will likewise provide the time, energy and resources I'll need to finish my work. He's never let me down, and He won't this time either. He will provide. It may not be in the time I want or the manner I'm expected, but no doubt about it--the Lord will provide.

Book Review: Plan B

My latest Booksneeze book review is of Plan B by Pete Wilson. "Plan B" is what happens when the life that you have all planned out ("Plan A") doesn't pan out. Perhaps it's an abrupt departure from your planned life--a death, an illness, a divorce. Or perhaps it's a gradual drifting away from the life you dreamed of. At any rate, sooner or later we all face Plan B moments when what we wanted and what we actually have are two very different things.

Wilson uses many personal anecdotes from his life and the lives of those he knows to discuss Plan B moments. He deals with the question that is also the subtitle of the book: "What do you do when God doesn't show up the way you thought He would?" Wilson doesn't offer easy answers--truly, sometimes there are no easy answers for the tragedies we face. He does, however, encourage us to allow Plan B to be a catalyst toward the heart of God rather than something that pulls us away from Him.

Perhaps the chapter that I was most drawn to was the chapter on waiting on God. Having felt like I've been in a bit of a Plan B limbo for quite a while now, I tend to sit up and pay attention when I read passages and verses about waiting. I particularly liked this take on spiritual transformation:

"Spiritual transformation doesn't take place on Sunday when we get what we want. It takes place on Saturday while we're waiting. It's what is forged while we're waiting, hoping, trusting, even though we have yet to receive that for which we long." (pg. 188)

The book is an easy read and while I didn't come away feeling like I had had some earth-shattering revelation, I was grateful for the reminder that God DOES have a purpose for my life, even if it's not the life that I would have necessarily planned for myself.