Schedules

Psalm 33

Are you one who plans out every hour of the day? Or do you prefer to just let things happen? In my day job I have some hard deadlines – Wednesday Prayer Meeting material has to be prepared before Wednesday Prayer Meeting. Sunday sermon needs to be finished prior to Sunday. Other meetings with church committees and teams mean agendas and documents need to be prepared prior to the meeting. Most of what I do in my job – caring for souls – doesn’t have the same kind of pressure to meet a hard deadline.

The psalmist acknowledges what all of us have learned

“The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations; He thwarts the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.” (Psalm 33:10–11, HCSB)

How many times has God interrupted my carefully orchestrated day? A random phone call. A few months ago I had finished preparing my breakfast when I received a message asking me to pull together a team of chaplains for an emergency in our community. That day’s plans disappeared quickly as breakfast grew cold and I ate a granola bar on the way to the emergency. In another instance, I was leading a team preparing for worship services for the ensuing weeks. My phone rang and my dad asked how quickly I could get to Tucson. Carefully laid plans were laid aside for a much more important priority (helping my dad deal with my Mom – this was a year or so prior to her passing).

You would think I might learn to allow God to set my plans, or at least to consult Him prior to my careful scheduling. NOT. I still like my carefully laid out schedules, my orchestrated days. But God, may I learn to wait on You (Psalm 33:22).