Here's Your Plan

I’m not, by nature, a terribly organized person.  Since I became a pastor, however, I’ve had to get myself organized to a certain extent.  There would be too many things that slip through the cracks otherwise.  And so, I wake up every day with a plan for my day.  I know, at least in general terms, the things I need to get done that day in order to make the week go smoothly.  And when I get to my office at the church in the morning, I start doing those things.

But sometimes God comes along and changes my whole plan.  I have my plan for the day, but God says, “No, here’s your plan for the day.”  And it’s something totally different from what I expected.

I don’t like that very much.  For one thing, when my plan for the day changes suddenly, it’s hardly ever good news.  But more than that, I don’t like having my routine disrupted.  I don’t like having my plans changed.  And it seems like that’s been happening fairly often lately.

Now, don’t take this the wrong way.  I want to be there for people when they need me.  And if that means having my plans disrupted, well, I’ll adapt.  But still, those things that I was planning to do--they still need to get done.  I may not be able to do them today, but I still need to do them.  And when I can’t do them on my schedule, it feels like I’m falling behind, and I need to somehow find the time to catch up.  And sometimes, finding that time is not particularly easy to do.

The answer, of course, is to trust God.  And I know that.  I’m sure you know it, too.  It’s just no always easy to do.  The basic problem is that I keep think of these things I have to do in exactly that way--as things I have to do.  What I have to remember is that if God truly wants me to do those things, God will provide me with the time to do them.  And if God does not provide me with that time, well, then it means that I don’t actually have to do them.  Maybe some of them don’t need to be done.  Maybe they need to be done, but they can wait a little while.  Maybe they need to be done, but somebody else can do them for a while.

What’s amazing, though, is the number of times when I’ve looked at all the things I’ve had to do, and I’ve seen no way that I could get them all done, and yet God somehow provided enough time for me to do them.  God rarely provides me with extra time--and sometimes I wish God would--but God always seems to provide me with just enough time.  It’s really pretty cool, the way God always does that.

So, here’s what I think the solution is, at least for me.  Maybe it’ll be the solution for you, too.  When you feel like you’re overwhelmed by things, just keep plugging away.  Do one thing at a time, get it done, and move on to the next thing.  And trust that God will provide you with the time to get the things done that need to be done.  And if God does not provide that time, then maybe the thing does not need to be done, at least not right now.

If God wants us to do something, then God will provide us with everything we need to do it.  That includes time.  So let’s trust God and just keep doing our best.