God willing

Today's reading from the One Year Bible comes from Acts 18:1-22. In it, we read that Paul says he will return to Ephesus if God is willing. And we can learn something important from that.

My pic at the top of the blog made ME laugh. Because I'm pretty sure the saying "Man plans. God laughs." was around a LONG time before Harlan Coben, as talented a writer as he is. But it's true. We make plans, and often they don't go .... quite... as we thought they would. The well laid plans of mice and men "gang aft agley", said Robert Burns in his delightful Scottish brogue. For those unfamiliar with the phrase, it means that our plans often go astray, or awry. They don't go as planned. Man plans. God laughs.

But the intersection between man's planning and God's directing is found in that phrase uttered by St Paul. "God willing." If God desires for me to do XYZ, then that's what I'll do. If not, I'll do what God DOES desire for me to do. Fighting it is like trying to push back the tide. Cooperating puts the wind in our sails. And helps us unmix our metaphors.

God, thank You for having a will for our lives. Please help us cooperate.