January 21, 2021
Sharing from the congregation – David Petty
The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. — Proverbs 19:21
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. — Jeremiah 29:11
John was a choir boy with a beautiful voice. He had dreams of being a famous singer some day. Then adolescence hit and he found himself unable to sing. He was devastated — at least as devastated as one can be at that age; kids have a wonderful ability to bounce back.
He moved on, though. He decided to become a choir director, and he began writing choral music. Today John Rutter is one of the greatest composers of choral music in the world. According to him, he still can’t sing. (He’s exaggerating. I’ve heard him sing a few lines in a radio interview and he’s not bad.) Apparently God had other plans for John Rutter.
His story is not entirely unique. The Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn also began as a choir boy who lost his singing voice. You probably know stories of others, musical or otherwise, famous or otherwise, who encountered devastating circumstances that turned out to be springboards to greater things. Quite possibly it’s happened to you.
The Bible indicates that God’s plans are not our plans, but it also implies that God’s plans are in our best interests. Thus it would seem to make sense for us to align our plans with God’s. But we often don’t. Why not? I think there are several reasons.
First, sometimes we simply forget. In our busy lives it’s seems easy to forget about God for periods of time. Second, it can be hard to know what God’s plans are (although the Beatitudes and the Golden Rule, for example, can point us in the right direction.)
Third, I’m afraid that sometimes we just don’t believe God will really work things out in our favor. To be fair, that’s often not due to doubts about God’s power; sometimes it has to do with own sense of worthlessness. Fourth, we don’t like to wait. We may realize that God’s plans will eventually take place, but we also know that God’s time is on a different scale from ours. We’d like our situation to be resolved in the next twenty minutes or so.
So pray for alertness, discernment, faith, and patience. If you don’t need them yourself, pray for me. And please treat yourself to some of John Rutter’s music. There are a number of pieces available online.
Gracefully submitted,
David Petty