A New Plan

I had a good plan mapped out for this morning! All was set to GO and I was ready. By the time I got to the second thing on my agenda, my Plan hit some problems. I was frustrated and irritable. But, then I felt the Spirit whisper to me - "Delme, make another plan!"

Of course, I wasn't so keen, because I was prepared for plan A, so thinking about plan B threw me off balance. In the end, adjusting the plan wasn't too bad, I guess, but I realise that I had to be open to 'see' the possibilities of another way. How are you when it comes to making another plan? Do you see the hand of God in the change or do let your frustration get the better of you?

Even God had to make other plans. When the people of Israel failed to keep their end of the covenant deals, God had to make another plan. Eventually, God's grace moved him to offer his son, Jesus as the final plan. This plan will be written on the hearts and souls of all people. See what Hebrews 8 has to say (from the Message)


This new plan I’m making with Israel
    isn’t going to be written on paper,
    isn’t going to be chiseled in stone;
This time I’m writing out the plan in them,
    carving it on the lining of their hearts.
I’ll be their God,
    they’ll be my people.
They won’t go to school to learn about me,
    or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.
They’ll all get to know me first hand,
    the little and the big, the small and the great.
They’ll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,
    with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Go to PLAN B

I went to sleep the other evening with a nicely laid out plan for the next morning. There were a whole lot of things that I was going to get done, but when I woke up everything changed! The problem was that we had no electricity the whole morning – and it wasn’t even our usual time for load shedding! I was deeply frustrated! However, as I began to wipe the sleep out of my eyes, I felt a gentle nudging from God, “Go to Plan B!”

The thing was I didn’t really have a nicely thought out Plan B, so, I was a little apprehensive about listening to the prompting from God. Anyway, I went with the idea and found that Plan B was equally rewarding. I hadn’t planned on it, but it all worked out fine.

Sometimes our lives are a lot like this, aren’t they? We have a great Plan A – it looks wonderful on paper or in our minds, but then something happens to drastically change these plans. So, how then do we respond? 

Well, in my opinion, God will always lead us onto another Plan, especially if Plan B will also bring him glory and honour, and if it won’t lead us away from him. God has a plan for our lives - It is a brilliant plan and one that will prosper us and not harm us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Psalm 20:4 - "May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed."

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Would you buy it?

Would you buy it?!
You may be asking "Would I buy WHAT?"

Would you buy a puzzle, knowing that there was a piece missing?
Well, the other day, my sons did exactly that - they bought a puzzle at a Fete, knowing that there was one piece missing. And now that they have completed the puzzle (which is the one in the picture attached) it looks awesome. When I looked at their completed picture I did a little thinking about this whole thing and these are my ramblings:

It would have been a pity for the puzzle not to be completed, just because a single piece was missing. Can you imagine if God worked like that with us? What if God said, "I am not going to do anything in Delme's life, because he is missing a lot of things in his character and personality!" That would mean that God would refuse to build anything in anyones life, because we are ALL missing something in our lives.

The kids had a lot of fun, in building the puzzle, which they wouldn't have experienced if they had ignored the puzzle. It was a good bonding experience and the joy on their faces was brilliant to see. Which reminds me that often I am consumed by "getting things done" instead of enjoying the process of spending time with others.

So, in the end, the puzzle with the missing piece tells me the story of the Gospel - even though God knew I was imperfect, he still chose to do something in my life. That is the miracle of GRACE.

1 Corinthians 1:25 - "This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength."

2 Corinthians 1:24 - We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.

Living in Grace
D3LM3