Loosen Your Grip
The Rocky Mountain sunshine gleamed on a perfect chamber of commerce summer day. As I started driving out of the parking lot, I paused and prayed, “Okay, God. I give up. You win. I’m ready to live here in Colorado Springs for the rest of my life if that’s what you want.” Finally, I had committed. I was now planning on being in that city forever.
Within four months, we had moved to Northern California to start a new church in the Bay Area.
We plan, and then plans change.
Here's something I never knew until just recently: YouTube originally started as a dating service. The three founders actually registered the domain name on Valentine’s Day. The idea was for single people to make videos introducing themselves and saying what they were looking for, but after five days no one had uploaded a single video, so the co-founders reconsidered.
Starbucks started as a tasting room. Post-It notes were an accident. Viagra was originally developed to treat cardiovascular disease. From 1885 to 1929 Coca-Cola contained at least a hint of cocaine and touted itself as a cure-all elixir.
We make plans, and then plans change.
We’ve all heard the adage: “If you want to make God laugh, show him your plans.”
Comedian Stephen Wright says, “I’m a peripheral visionary. I can see the future, but only way off to the side.”
And Tony Snow added, "We want lives of simple, predictable ease—smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see--but God likes to go off-road.”
God laughs at our plans.
The ideas and goals and prospectus we start with in life and ministry may—probably will--change radically as we continue the journey.
So, we don’t need to plan, correct?
Not so fast. Solomon had a different idea: Plans matter:
Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance. —Proverbs 20:18 (NIV)
The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. —Proverbs 21:5 (NIV)
It’s not good to have zeal without knowledge or to be hasty and miss the way.”—Proverbs 19:2 (NIV)
It is wise to plan ahead.
But then we read in the Book of James:
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.—James 4:12-17 (NIV)
So, is planning useful or useless?
A story in the book of Acts gives us some insight:
So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. —Acts 16:2-10 (NIV)
Paul and his team had clear plans, but God clearly changed those plans.
Make a plan, and then plan for your plans to change. Make your plan, then plan for God to change your plans.
Expect any plans you make to be subject to change without notice!
It's a paradox. Plans are both important and not important. Plans are necessary and unnecessary.
It's okay if that doesn't make complete sense. Truth is often found in paradoxes.
My son Scott works with a financial advisor who admitted, “I really don’t have any idea what will happen, I just want my plans to be directionally accurate.”
We can chart a direction while we stay open to even better paths that may arise.
My friend Geoff Wells took a spill in Texas last month and his hand swelled up like a water balloon. On returning to Sacramento, Geoff saw his doctor remove a large splinter from the hand and prescribe some medication. A few days later I noticed Geoff’s hand almost back to normal.
“Geoff are you back playing golf yet?” I inquired. He beamed, “My golf game is better than ever!” When I looked confused Geoff offered, “The hand injury has forced me to loosen my grip on the golf club, and the loose grip has improved my shot.” Then Geoff mentioned he is reading a book on golf by Tiger Woods who keeps emphasizing, “Loosen your grip!”
I mentioned Geoff’s fortune to my wife, Lori, and she concluded, “That’s a great lesson for life—loosen your grip.”
And it’s a great lesson for our plans: Make them. And hold them loosely. God just might have better plans for us.