The Plan Formed

Many times in our own experience we long to hear a clear unambiguous message from God that will set a direction for our future. We want to hear from him that we should go here or there and say this or that, then things would be so much simpler. But he often doesn't tell us the details of his plan, but he does make clear the objective. How will plans be formed in your mind? God may give you the strategy and all the details of his plan, but he may not and in fact history suggests that he probably won’t. God intends that you participate in his planning process; he wants you to actively consider how you can you can use the resources, gifts and abilities at your disposal to fulfill the goals he has established.

Elijah was commanded to present himself to Ahab with a message of good news – the rains were coming. Given that Ahab was scouring the countryside, looking for Elijah so that he could kill him, that the journey was long and arduous and he had only had God’s word that it was going to rain, it would have been reasonable to show some reticence in obeying the command. But Elijah went. What is the specific message that God has given you? Do you have a burden on your heart but are waiting for all the details of the plan to be in place before you move? Has God given you a vision, but rather than simply act in response to it, you are waiting for the budget to be established, the resources to be allocated and the fine detail to be determined? Sometimes the only appropriate response to the command of God is immediate obedience. Rather than waiting until we think the time is right we need to start moving. Plans can be formed on the way to our destination; sometimes we do need to be flexible enough to respond to changing circumstances. We need to have the courage to take God at his word and start toward the goal, trusting him to direct our footsteps as the plans are formed in our minds.

Elijah finally met with Ahab and delivered his message. His plans were in place, but now he had to surrender them onto the hands of others, and these others had not proved to be very trustworthy. Few of us have the opportunity of seeing plans come to fruition without having to enlist the support of others and this frequently means that at some stage we lose control. The responsibility for the plan passes into the hands of others and all we can do is wait while things happen. This can be a frustrating time.

Most achievers are uncomfortable with times of inactivity or waiting. The Bible reveals that Elijah spent a lot of time waiting and it appears he didn't always know what was coming next or when it was going to happen. Many of the other heroes of the bible spent years in limbo waiting for the fulfillment of a promise. I doubt that they found that experience any less frustrating than we do. What do we do when we are forced to surrender our plans into the hands of others and stand by while they fulfill their responsibilities? When Elijah gave his plans to Ahab he had to rely on him doing what was probably out of character, but It was necessary for the fulfillment of Elijah’s plans that Ahab send the order; imagine some leader receiving a command from Elijah to leave whatever they were doing and to travel through the wilderness in a drought to meet at Mount Carmel. They may well have said ‘Elijah who?’ and just ignored the summons, but when Ahab summoned them, they came. Often times our plans require the involvement of others because they have the power or influence with men and women that we do not. They may have skills that we lack or access to services that we do not and so we rely on them to implement the strategies we have planned.

How did Elijah spend his time while he was waiting for the others to arrive? He was probably already on Mt Carmel, but it would have taken some time for the orders to be delivered throughout the land and even longer for everybody to respond to the summons for them to attend. Did Elijah use this time to wait in a cave in prayer? Was he laying out his plans before God going through every detail and making sure nothing had been overlooked? The bible is silent about this; all we know is that when the others arrived he was ready.

When you have launched some initiative that you are convinced is God’s plan for you and you have got to that stage in the process where you have to rely on the work or involvement of others, often all you can do is wait. Sometimes those others don’t share your enthusiasm or passion, and other things may claim first priority on their time and energy and so you may become frustrated and even irritable. If God had chosen you to initiate some plan or purpose of his you may well find yourself living in the meantime while you wait for others to do what you are convinced they should.  Waiting in the meantime is not easy but It is in this meantime that your character will be formed and God’s plans will  come to maturity.