I went to see Prometheus the other day. This is by far one of my most anticipated films to see this year. Though, it is not a film for everyone, I especially enjoyed its themes of faith, science, and the desire to know truth.
If you read my last post, I focused on what we as Christians know to be true. The scriptures will always be truth for us. In Prometheus, they are searching for the truth about where humans came from. They were searching for the origin of man. We know that truth to be very simple, though. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God has been here before time and will be here long after our end. He creates us, loves us, and desires a relationship with us.
Given that, there is a line in Prometheus that stood out to me. I won’t give the context of the scene, but the line was, “God does not build in straight lines.” That seems very insightful to me. We build in straight lines, but nothing in nature indicates that God builds according to our vision. The forest trees seem randomly placed. The ocean shore can be crooked. Each mountain is a different height and shape, yet all of these miracles of nature seem beautiful to us even though we would have designed them completely differently.
In other words, our buildings are made straight, but God builds in unique ways we do not understand. The same goes for his plan with our lives. We like to make plans for our lives. It makes us feel like we have more control over things than we really do, but Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.”
It is like an old phrase that I hear once and awhile, “Man plans and God laughs.”
GOD’S PLANS
Have you ever felt like your life is out of control and you wonder, “Where is God?” We all do this. Sometimes we blame ourselves. Sometimes we blame God. I think both those responses are wrong, though. I think we are looking for straight lines instead of God’s path. Remember the beauty of nature. To us it should seem chaotic and out of control, but in reality we can see the beauty and order of God’s hand in nature.
Maybe God is in control and is performing his purpose in your life and you just don’t see it. I think we get our thoughts tied up into thinking “Why is God doing this?” instead of saying “I don’t know what God is doing, but I know his plan is better than anything I could come up with”. God’s plan will always be good. We just need to trust that it is good.
STEP BY STEP
Of course, if we believe God is good and greater than us then we would naturally want to follow his plan. According to Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a [good] man are directed and established by the Lord when He delights in his way [and He busies Himself with his every step].”
There are two major points to receive from this verse. One is that we should be delighting in the Lord. We become ungrateful to quickly in our society. Don’t think saying “thanks, God” once and while will do it either. Delight in the things that he is doing and will be doing in your life.
The next point of this verse is that our steps are being directed. Our flesh wants everything now and does not like to be kept waiting, but we must realize that our paths with God are taken one step at a time. A child may become mad at their parents and try to run away from home. That’s because they want a certain amount of independence that they are not ready for yet. We are like children trying to skip several steps ahead and receive blessings we are not ready for yet. God wants to guide us one step at a time. So, slow down and stop looking years down the road and focus on the next step God is guiding you to take.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THEM?
I knew someone that was miserable to the point the were regularly depressed. They were Christian and believed in the Lord very much, but always felt guilty when they saw someone who was happy. They had a close Christian friend that seemed like they had the joy of the Lord in them all of the time. They always said to me, “What’s wrong with me? They are always happy?”
That was because they were comparing themselves to someone else. It is like comparing apples and oranges. God’s plans for us are unique because we are unique. No two people are the same and therefore our lives will not be the same. The devil wants us to compare ourselves with each because it can lead to either envy or pride. God has plans for everyone, but his plan for you is your plan and not someone else’s.
STILL PLAN
We still need to step out and act, though. God’s way will not be made know to us if we just choose to sit back and wait. Imagine you are a character is a story. Star Wars wouldn’t be Star Wars if Luke stayed home and waited for things to happen to him. God has implanted desires in our hearts and we should follow those desires with prayer and a deep understanding of the scripture.
You can come up with some great plans for your life if you just seek the Lord on a daily basis. Mathew 7:8-9 says “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” I think if anyone commits to doing this with an open mind and heart, their plans and God’s plans will start to line up in significant ways.
Remember you are apart of doing God’s will and fulfilling his plan on this world. The first line of the Lord’s prayer is Mathew 6:9-10, “Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is more than asking for his will, but committing yourself to doing his will.
GODS PLAN IS UNSTOPPABLE
I know many people who think once they are off the beaten path that they can not get back on track. I assure that is not the way a loving God works. The devil wants us to believe that it is just a single concrete plan that God has for our lives and once we screw it up we should just give up. Then the devil wins because you have believed a lie that is not true.
God’s plan for us is like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. We have choices in front of us on a daily basis. God’s word guides us to the right choices. Prayer and asking leads us to better choices for our lives. God may even call you to do something specific. Just look to the gifts he has given you to gain guidance for how to serve the Lord.
Overall, if God wants something specific to be done then nothing can stop him. I’ll finish up with a story from Acts 5:34-42 when Paul was about to be killed by a group of Pharisees.
“But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men!Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.
“So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”
The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.
The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”
When a plan is of God there is nothing that man or the devil can do to stop those plans. When we come up with plans that aren’t of God, they come of nothing. Sometimes they’ll just fizzle out and sometimes they’ll end in catastrophe, but if it isn’t of God they’ll be overthrown. Also, notice that Paul suffered and rejoiced at the end of this story. Sometimes God’s plans lead through dark times, but with a ready mind and heart we can rejoice that God is good and his plan always leads to blessed and good things.
So, don’t become obsessed with looking for straight lines in your life. Rejoice in God’s plan for your life and take it one step at a time and he will direct your path.
Off The Cuff Christian 