As someone who is facing a “Plan B” in my life at the moment, it was refreshing to read the stories presented in the book (Biblical references and personal references from Pete) and see that there are others that are facing an end to the path that they had planned as their “Plan  A” as God takes them down another path that may hurt at first, but also prepares them for who He wants them to be for the rest of their lives.

Pete’s writing is simple and down to earth, and is very genuine, not preachy.  I it easy to provide a bunch of Scriptures and tell someone that everything will work out for good.  But to hear stories of how people, including the author, faced and end to their own plans and embraced what God has for them is a great inspiration and compels you to seek out God’s Plan A.

I really appreciated what Pete wrote about Joshua and the Children of Israel as Joshua takes the mantle from Moses and prepares to lead the people. Pete writes:

God is just giving him a little pregame pep talk: “Joshua, just remember what you know.  Be strong. Be courageous. And whatever you do, don’t forget I am with you.”

God has a few words for Joshua’s people as well: “Don’t live in fear. I don’t want you to make the same mistake you parents did. Listen to me, pay attention to my instructions, and everything will work out for you.

Finally, God makes the whole nation a promise: “If you trust me, if you’ll follow me, I’ll be with you. Every place you set your foot in that land, I’ve already gone ahead of you. My power will be available for you. You’re not going to have to undertake the rest of your life on the power of just your own resources.”

Here is the deal, and really the point of the book.  What you consider to be “Plan A” in your life may never happen. If it does not, we need to remember that God is sovereign, that He is in control, that He works from the future back and has already been where we are headed. As long as we trust Him and follow Him, what we may consider to be “Plan B” will actually be what God intended for us from the very beginning.

You can read a sample of the book by clicking on this link.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to review this book, which was provided to me by Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze.

So, the Israelites forget all that God had done for them in the past, and they measured the task by their own strength.  We also see that…

• They viewed things in their own perspective rather than in the light of God’s promises.

In Numbers 13:33, the Bible says that the Israelites “saw the Nephilim,” compared themselves to those giants, and decided that compared to the giants, they were like little bugs.

God had already promised them the land, yet the Israelites lived as if this was all going to depend on them to accomplish.  NEWS FLASH: God has already won the victory!  What He says he will do, He will do!  He is faithful!

We can get so wrapped up in things and our circumstances around us that we forget that God has already promised to take lead us to a determined end.  If we are going to be “Giant Killers” and not “Grasshoppers,” we have to remember the promises of God.”

Ok, one more!

• They were more concerned about their circumstances that they were God’s will.

In Numbers 13: 27-28 the Israelites said, “It is all like God promised it would be…  It is good like God said…  It is just as He promised…”  And then they said, “But…”  (vs. 28) .  They recognized God’s will and then saw it in the light of their own circumstances (the people that were in the land) and they decided God’s will was just not worth it.

I know many people that have done the same thing.  They think they want to follow God’s will until they see the circumstances around them as they step out to follow God.  Then, they just decide it is not worth it to follow God’s plan for their life.

It is not always easy to follow God’s plan, but it is always worth it!

If we are going to be “Giant Killers” and not “Grasshoppers,” we have to focus God’s will, not the circumstances around us.

Let’s strive to live like Giant Killers, not Grasshoppers!

Not only did the Israelites forget all that God had done for them in the past, but…

• They measured the task by their own strength and not by God’s might

In chapter 13, verses 31-33 we see Israel say “Those people are much too strong for us.”(31) Then they described the people of the land saying, “the people are like giants.” (32)  Finally, it culminated in them saying of themselves, “They were so big that we felt as small as grasshoppers.”

But they forgot one thing:  they were not alone!  God was on their side!  It didn’t matter what their strength was, because God was able to handle it, if they would just let Him!

It is easy to sit back and judge the Israelites, but how many times have we tried to do something in our own strength  and leave God out of it?  We try things on our own and then if it doesn’t work, we go to God and ask Him to take care of the mess!  How much easier would it be if we just let God do what He said He would do and believe Him!

If we are going to be “Giant Killers” and not “Grasshoppers,” we have to go in God’s strength, not our own!

In Numbers 13 and 14, we see the same old complaining Israel as they are just on the brink of going into the promised land.  They send out some spies to look at the land and report on it.  Those spies come back and tell Israel that the land is all that God had been promising them… it is an amazing place!  But, then you get to Numbers 13:33, and the spies reported the they saw the people in the land and said, “we felt as small as grasshoppers.”

After all Israel had seen God do, they get to this point and freeze.  They end up not getting to go into the land yet, and an entire generation had to die off before God’s plan could be accomplished (because of their attitude).  Israel made some major mistakes as they approached the promised land and what the spies saw.  Let’s look at just one today:

• They forgot what God had done in the past as they viewed the seemingly impossible task at hand

In Numbers 14:22 God reminded them that they had seen His power, but as they looked at what was before them, they forgot all that God had done already!

We do the same thing, don’t we?  We come to a difficult situation in life and we forget all that God has taken us through already.  We forget His love and grace and forgiveness that He has displayed toward us.  We forget that He has delivered us from sin, and from temptation.  We decide that this is the one situation that He cannot take us through, but we are wrong!  He will take care of us now just as He did then!

We cannot live int he past, but the past is a great teacher for us. If we want to be “Giant Killers” rather than “grasshoppers,” we cannot forget what God has done in the past as we look at that which is before us.

“Tired of divine delays?  Feel like your life is a divine detour?  Let me remind you of three things: (1) The longer you have to wait, the more you will appreciate; (2) sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is hang in there; and (3) a sense of humor can get you through just about anything.  And one more thing, no matter how crazy the Wild Goose chase gets, don’t forget to enjoy the journey!”

Sure, it is hard to enjoy every aspect of the journey.  There are times when you will feel mistreated, unloved and taken advantage of.  But here is the deal, it is in those times, the times that are tough, that we are able to grow closer to God.  The detour that has appeared in your life is not a surprise to God.  He has already been there, ahead of you, to plan everything as He wants.  We just need to change our perspective, and look at it as a divine detour that will ultimately lead us to be who God wants us to be.

Am I More Concerned About God Or Others? Scripture is very clear, “Do your best to present yourself to God…” When “the end” is here I will stand before God and will NOT answer as to… Whether or not I kept people happy. Whether or not I appeased the bloggers. Whether or not I preached sermons that people WANTED to hear. I will answer for whether or not I was faithful to WHO He called me to be and WHAT He called me to do! I have a quote hanging in my office by Craig Groeschel that says, “The quickest way to forget what God says about me is to become obsessed with what others say about me.” SO TRUE! When my head hits the pillow at night I’ve got to know that I have tried my best to honor HIM and HIS calling on my life…which IS NOT EASY in a world where everyone seems to have an opinion and a website! BUT…focusing on them doesn’t allow me to focus on Him! (BTW…it isn’t helping you either!!!) Paul said it best in Galatians 1:10…we have a choice…I have made mine and will not look back…there is way too much at stake!

Everyone that has ever been involved in ministry, whether full-time or as a volunteer knows that you will NEVER make everyone happy… it is impossible!  Jesus did not even do that!  What we have to guard from is holding people’s opinions about us higher than we do God’s design and desire for us… that is hard, especially when you are a people-pleaser by nature.  Honestly, that is something that I fight constantly!  Here is the deal though, until we are being who God created us to be, we will never reach our full potential, and we will not be satisfied.  Once we realize who God made us to be, and start living it, our focus will shift to that of pleasing Him, and not people.  We will be more concerned with reaching people than we are keeping people.  Trying to keep people is an act of desperation… reaching people keeps things alive and Christ-centered.

Just something to chew on today… thanks Perry!

3. Loyalty is a two way street.

• There are those that think that above everything else, loyalty to them and their agenda is the most important thing… even if it means turning your back on what God has called you to do.  For some reason, some people think that they deserve your loyalty just because of their position.  But loyalty usually only goes one way with them.  They are the first one to throw you under the bus if it helps them avoid looking bad.
• Those that preach and demand loyalty from the pulpit are usually the last ones that deserve it.  You do not have to preach or demand loyalty.  Loyalty is earned from people by your character and your actions.  If you do not have good character, you will not have loyalty.  If your actions stink or are always done with a personal agenda, you will not have loyalty.   Hammering it from the pulpit only makes people resent you, not follow you.  If you lead well, you will have the loyalty of the people you are leading.
• You have to model loyalty to receive it.  If you are always the one expecting to receive, but never give loyalty, you do not deserve it.  The team you work with needs to know that there is loyalty to the team… loyalty to one another in the day to day stuff (this obviously does not apply to covering sin or secret agendas of self-centered people).

4. If you think you are leading, but no one is following… you are just out for a walk

• No, this is not an original statement from me, but it is so true.  My desire is to live a life for God that will impact other people.  If God gives me the ability to lead, I need to lead where he wants me to go and to where He wants me to lead others to go.  I NEVER want to be in a position where I decide I will lead where I want to go, or where I want others to go.  That will not only hinder my ability to be who God has intended me to be, but it will hinder others from being able to be who God created them to be, which is the exact opposite of what we are suppose to be about.

That is it for this entry… part three tomorrow!

1. People are depending on me to be in the Word

• Not because I can impart some great wisdom to them, but because me being able to be who God intended me to be is dependent on me being in the Word so I know what God wants.
• If I am going to lead people, that leadership has to be based on something greater than me.  I will only go so far, but God’s Word has unlimited potential to change lives and help people take their next step towards Christ.
• My daily time in the Word is the most important time I spend during the day.  It energizes me and empowers me to love God, love people and serve both.
• It also helps me to be able to be a good example and leader for my family.  They need to know that God’s Word is the ultimate authority in my life.  If I am not in the Word, they will not be.
• If I am teaching or preaching God’s Word, I cannot rely on past experiences or lessons.  I have to take the time to be in the Word so that God can work on me first.  Only then can I have a message that is worth sharing.  There is nothing worse than hearing someone get up and preach “pretending” they have studied (and everyone else knows they have heard it before… maybe two or three times before!).  That is laziness, and there is no passion in that!

2. You may know what you want, but God knows what you need

• I am so glad that God works the way He does.  Even during the transition this year, there were times when I thought that things were going to happen, and they did not.  At the time, it was tough, but in the end, God took care of us.
• God has always done what was needed in my life at the right time.  I may have wanted things to happen quicker, but God had His timing in mind.  And I am so thankful for that.
• Being able to tell the difference between what we need and what we want is difficult at times.  That is another reason why it is important to be in God’s Word.  It helps us see the difference between perceived needs (wants) and actual needs.  At times, Jesus would meet perceived needs in order to show someone their real needs.  He did not always do that though.  In the end, God’s plan was accomplished.  God’s plan will always be accomplished!

What are some of the things you have learned this year?

(To be continued… tomorrow!)

I am sitting and watching the election results.  It is interesting to listen to all the spin and commentary from each side of the “isle.”  Two things have struck me so far as I sit here and listen.  One thing was from Rudy Giuliani.  He was talking about what Republicans and Democrats will do tomorrow if their candidate loses.  This is not a direct quote, but essentially he said, “Tomorrow we wake up Americans, not Republicans or Democrats.  We wake up Americans and have a job to do to continue to make our country the best in the world.”  I like that attitude.  Politics can be dirty, and I am convinced that no one man is going to be the reason for the rise or fall of our country, no matter what they may have said.  In the end though, we are Americans and have an obligation to get along, fix the things that are wrong, and move forward to do the best we can.  Which leads me to my second thought so far tonight, God is in control.

Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” That is a comfort to me no matter what party is in control.  We are all but vessels that God moves and directs to fulfill His purpose.  God’s purpose and plan will accomplished, there is no doubt about that.  So what will I do in the morning?  I will be praying not only for President Bush but also either President-elect McCain or Obama.  Whoever gets elected tonight will need our prayers and the wisdom and hand of God on their life as they step in to lead the greatest country in the world in one of the most difficult times we have seen.  I believe God is up to the task, and still in control. How about you?

edited at 10:15CST to reflect election results…