Men Plan,
God Laughs
Our american culture has taught us to be independent and self-centered, while at the same time basing our entire existence on our own sense of greatness. In essence, we glorify ourselves and remove God from the picture. That’s what atheism is all about. We plan out our entire lives in advance. We mistakenly believe that we are in control of everything. The problem with this is that our lives almost never go according to our plans. This reminds me of a rather amusing truth.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
In Fr. Larry Richard’s book Surrender! he reminds us that the truth is—as independent and in-control as you think you are—you can’t take your next breath if God does not will it. He is in control of our very existence. It is He that keeps us alive. We turn our backs on Him when we try to take control. As difficult as it is, we must relinquish this desire for control to God.
In the Scriptures we read that Joseph is confronted with a difficult situation, one that in our day would be just as scandalous for all parties involved. Imagine a guy is engaged to a virgin and finds out that she is pregnant before they have ever slept together. Yeah, that’s definitely a cause for scandal. I have no doubt that most guys would react just as Joseph did.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.” ~ Matthew 1:19
His mind was made up. He had made his plans. We often make our own plans, in fact, everyday we make plans for how we want the day, the week, and our entire lives to go.
The Bursting of Your Bubble
As you know, God loves to burst your bubble. Since we have an amazing ability to make ourselves into God, He finds it necessary to prove us wrong, to bring us to our knees, and show us that He alone is our God. Unfortunately, this is often an inconvenience for we who think that the world revolves around us. But in the solar system of our lives it is essential that we realize that there can only be one center. It is we who must revolve around the Son and maintain our orbit as we take in His light. Lucky for Joseph, he learned this through a dream.
“Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'” ~ Matthew 1:20-21
That’s a dream that many would dismiss as crazy! He probably thought, “Does God know how this is going to affect my reputation? There’s no way!” How easy would it have been for him to ignore God’s command?
“When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” ~ Matthew 1:24
So instead of continuing with his own plan of divorcing her, he acknowledged God’s plan for his life, and accepted it. This is not always an easy task. How often do you give up what you want to do, in order to live God’s plan for you? This is something that we need to learn how to do more often, or rather, daily.
Everyday when we wake up we should surrender ourselves to Him, offer up our day to Him as a living sacrifice, and ask Him what His will for us is today. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but you will grow to desire His will and then you will be taking another step on your way to holiness, and a giant leap toward the God you love.