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God: a plotter

here's a fun thought--God is a planner. He's not a pantser, He's a plotter. 

from the beginning of time to its end, God has planned what He's wanted for mankind. the redemption story--from the Fall of Adam and Eve to plight of Israel, the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, to the present days, the tribulation, the return of Jesus, the millennial reign, the forever--God has planned. He has known what will happen, He knows every nanosecond of future history, He knows what i'm going to write before i even write it. He knows what this blog post will end up looking. He knows! 

this blows my mind! 

Isaiah 55 declares: 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts."

It goes on to say:

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

In other words, what God says He'll do, He does. what He plans comes to pass. 

God isn't a planner like we're planners. when people plan, they adjust targets and timings in accordance to present day hindrances. but Psalm 33 says:

"The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations."

God's the one that thwarts people's plans and purposes, not the other way around! our plans are thwarted all the time. we are prevented from seeing our plans through due to numerous reasons and excuses: laziness, distractions, futile reasons, daily life and death, internal suffering, etc. but God's plans? they stand firm forever. what God says He'll do, He does. 

Genesis 3:15 foresaw the defeat of the devil's plans against mankind through Jesus. the Messiah was prophesied hundreds of years before His actual birth. at just the right time, Jesus Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). He has declared how "the book" ends in Revelation. Jesus even prophesied his own death to his disciples. 

God knows! God is a planner. and He has a plan for you. 

the problem is when we don't trust in this plan, nor in His faithfulness, nor His word, and we keep going our own pace, thinking God will go along with us, and yes, He's extremely patient, but WE don't hold our timeline. God does! you and i don't even know if i'll reach the end of this blog post. if i'll be alive by next Friday. it's bananas for us to assume we know anything at all. 

and yet we plan and are filled with hope that our plans will come to pass, but the truth is, only God's plans come to pass. every plan we have that comes to pass was willed and planned by God. 

so then...

i want to be a planner and i want God to plan for me. and i know He's done it already. but i'm a pantser when it comes to my life when i should really be just...a follower. for those who don't know what a pantser is, it's a writing term:  

"Simply put, a plotter is someone who plans out their novel before they write it. A pantser is someone who, “flies by the seat of their pants,” meaning they don't plan out anything, or plan very little."
- The Write Practice

man, i'm even a pantser with this blog. which, i think is fine, because honestly, i enjoy flying by the seat of my pants with this thing. i find it preserves the authenticity and creativity of my thoughts. 

but with life...i gotta stop being a pantser with God's plans for me. in the end, His plan stands firm. it's inevitable that i obey; i know it is. 

but ooof! it's so hard, man. narrow is the gate and hard is the way, right? 

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