DO YOU HAVE A CONTINGENCY PLAN?

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.”  With that in mind, it is always good to have a “Contingency Plan” just in case the unexpected happens to the best laid plans.   I have often had to resort to “Plan B” when “Plan A” just wouldn’t come together.  It is a good thing to keep “Plan B” close when planning a party, cooking a dinner or picking out the perfect outfit for the occasion, but what about when we commit to following the Will of God?  God has ONE PLAN.  It is perfect so there is no need for a Contingency Plan.  The Bible gives us some examples of individuals who thought “Plan A” could use a little refining but always, “Plan B” didn’t turn out so well for them.

One of the first examples occurred in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.  The people were hungry and God rained down manna.  “Plan A” was that the people would gather just enough for today (except the day before the Sabbath) and trust God that He would provide for tomorrow.  Perhaps fear and hunger replaced trust or maybe they thought they could save some energy, but some decided to institute “Plan B” and gathered enough for today and tomorrow.  Well “Plan B” resulted in wormy manna and the people discovered “Plan A” was just fine.  A few years later, Joshua led the Israelites against the city of Jericho.  “Plan A” was to abstain from all the spoil of war with certain items being consecrated to the Lord and put into the treasury.  A man named Achan decided on “Plan B” and took a Babylonian garment, gold and silver, hiding them under his tent.  Once again “Plan B” didn’t work out so well, the Israelite army was defeated in their next battle, at AI and it ultimately resulted in the death of Achan and his entire family.  There are other examples in the Bible of people setting aside the Plan of God and instituting a Contingency Plan of their own.  Every time “Plan B” ended in disaster.

Let’s take a look at the people who put unwavering faith in the plan of God with no thought of a contingency plan; “just in case.”  Noah obeyed by building the ark and getting into it when God said “it’s time.”  There was one door, which God shut and Noah and his family were saved according to “Plan A”.  The account of Elisha as he prepares to follow Elijah says, he took the yoke of oxen, he had been plowing with, slaughtered them, used the yoke for firewood to roast them, fed the people and left.  Talk about burning bridges….Elisha burned the whole team of oxen; there would be no “Plan B” to come back to if “Plan A” didn’t work. As a result of Elisha sticking to “Plan A” with no contingency plan, he was given a “double portion” of Elijah’s anointing.   Finally, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were ordered by Nebuchadnezzar to bow to the image with the threat of death for disobedience.  “Plan A” said, “Thou shall have no other gods before me.”  Daniel 3:16-18 proves that the 3 men never considered “Plan B;” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”  Their faith in the Plan of God with no consideration for contingencies brought them through the fire, through the flood, built a nation and performed great miracles; God still rewards that kind of faith…If one person will dare to embrace “Plan A” with no contingencies.

Three times in my adult life has God said “GO.”  Even with my crazy personality of planning and lists, I understood that Steve and I had to follow “Plan A.”  We left family, friends, jobs, sold houses, packed up the kids and went.  Things didn’t always turn out the way we envisioned but the Blessing of God has been abundant.  FAITH says, “I may not understand the details but I trust in the Plan Maker, so I will go.”  FAITH says, “I wouldn’t do it this way but I’m following HIS WAY, so I trust it is for my good.”  FAITH says, “I cannot see the path clearly but my hand is held firmly by my Loving Father and when the way gets rough, I will be carried in His strong arms, so I keep walking.” 

God has always had only ONE PLAN; “Plan A.”  When you commit to follow God there can be NO CONTINGENCIES. You may have to kill and roast the oxen, build a boat or go through a fiery furnace.  It requires FAITH, TRUST, and COMMITMENT but His plan is perfect and it makes packing for the journey a whole lot easier.

WORRY? I'M GOING TO SLEEP!

So many times as I read the Word of God, my inadequacies become glaring obvious.  As I read of the perseverance of the “Heroes of Faith,” I find my own steadfastness sorely lacking.  Then as I begin to dig a little deeper and study a little more, I begin to understand they were all imperfect people just like me and together we serve a PERFECT GOD, who is ready to reach down, wrap His everlasting arms around us, set us on a solid rock and is always faithful.   David is such a wonderful example of an imperfect servant of our perfect God and wasn’t afraid to reveal all of his wart, bumps, bruises and scars.  He understood life wasn’t really about his failures but about God’s faithfulness.

In Psalms 3:1-2, David writes, “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.  ² Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Have you ever felt like David?  I have.  Sometimes it seems that you don’t have a friend in the world that really believes in you.  David’s adversaries didn’t even believe that God would come through for him.  Makes you just want to shrivel up and die, doesn’t it?  But David doesn’t stop there, because he had a faith in God and a history with God that could lift him above what anyone thought or was saying about him.  In verse 3, David refutes everything his enemies are bringing against him; “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.”  David wasn’t king because of his strength, military prowess or even by birth, it was God who had positioned him to be king, God who “lifted his head” and all the glory belonged to God.  Rise up against him; say whatever you think, David was confident in the relationship that existed between him and God.

 You see, to David it wasn’t just KNOWLEDGE that God was faithful; it was a deeply rooted truth, he had experienced from his youth.  What did David do with this knowledge?  Verse 5 tells us, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.”  Don’t you just love it?  As Alfred E. Neuman puts it, “What, me Worry?”  With his knowledge and confidence in God’s faithfulness, David took his worries and fears, put them in the Lord’s capable hands and went to sleep. 

Oh to have that kind of faith and assurance that “If God is for me, who can be against me.”  Most times we pull  out all the darts Satan is throwing at us, ask God for help, try to figure out how to soothe the wounds and then wait for the perfect opportunity to throw the darts right back.  If it feels like everything is against you and there is a widespread belief that even God can’t come through for you on this one, reach way back and pull out your history.  God hasn’t changed!!! Just as He has many times before, He will come through for you.  He is your Shield, your Glory, and the Lifter of Your Head.  Step 2…Lay down; go to sleep and wake up refreshed for the Lord will sustain you.  Be confident in God’s great love and the relationship you have built with Him.  Along with David you can say, “Worry?  I’m going to sleep!”