Westside Church of Christ

We lay out our plans for the day. We may even write them down or enter them in our phones. The morning will be filled with the business at hand. Jobs to do, bills to pay, needs to meet and then the phone rings. So much for our plans. The entire day is turned upside down by some unforeseen situation, and we react in…what? Anger? Frustration? Our plans have been totally rearranged.

The life of Jesus was perpetually interrupted. His appearance in this world was a disruption of His existence in heaven. His time here was no different. Jairus was in a panic as he approached Jesus. His daughter was near death, and He passionately pleaded for the Lord to save her. So, off they went. Then the interruption. A woman who had battled an issue for a dozen years that no doctor could cure fought through the crowd and touched his clothes. The Son of God, our Savior, is no stranger to such situations. On the way to handle one matter another butts in. It’s life, especially if we follow in His footsteps. He didn’t fuss. He cured. Happy endings for both

emergencies (Mark 5:21-43).

Paul was called to take the gospel beyond the Jewish world, and that is what he intended to do. Asia was on his radar, but something went wrong. He tried but failed. Who would have guessed that it was the Holy Spirit hindering his efforts? No explanation is given as to why. He was simply stopped (Acts 16:6-15). After two unsuccessful attempts, he wound up in Philippi at the Lord’s direction, and met a woman from…Asia! It wasn’t a bad plan, but God had a different one. It happens, even to us.

Jesus climbed the mountain and took Peter, James and John along. He went up to pray, and that’s when all heaven broke loose. Jesus changed, kind of an indescribable glow, as He talked with Moses and Elijah. Peter reacted in his usual impulsive way. He wanted to honor the three with a tabernacle each. Sounds good and respectful, but it was not God’s idea. Listening was. (Luke 9:28-36). Maybe we should open the Book before we grab the hammer. Our Father might have something else in mind.

Plans are not bad things, but we need to write them in pencils with huge erasers and stay open to wrinkles. They might be the Lord changing our plans for reasons that only He knows. Maybe He has another task for us. What if He diverted our route to keep us out of a bad accident? It could be teaching us that we had not included Him in our planning (James 4:13-17). It is likely that we will never know why. So, we trust our days to God and that is a valuable lesson. It soothes a lot of anxiety.

Call to Praise: Acts 12:1-5

His word on it: Acts 12:24

Sermon: “The King Versus the Lord”