Plan A is what we plan for, hope for, and want. Working, growing, thriving churches. Active, converted, happy children. Loving, talented, dedicated spouses. Fulfilled expectations—our own and those others hold for us. Plan B is what we get. To a large degree, how we handle Plan B determines what our lives are like. Most of us expect contentment and satisfaction to come naturally—aren't they natural by-products of serving in the ministry? But Paul knew a person has to work for them; he said he had learned to be con tent in whatever state he found himself (Phil. 4:11).
A couple arrives in a small Western town to begin serving in a two-church district—their first pastoral assignment. The first Sabbath the excited couple comes early to the larger, 30-member church. After a while one member arrives. At 9:00 there is still just one person in the congregation; 10:00, the same. At 11:00 the pastor preaches his first sermon to that one person. Definitely Plan B!
A young pastor and his wife work months preparing a group of people for baptism. As the last step in the process they hold a series of evangelistic meetings, the pastor doing his own preaching. Finally the day of the baptism arrives. But three quarters of the baptismal candidates don't show up they were baptized into another church the night before. Plan B has struck again.
A pastor agonizes over his sermons each week, spending many hours in prayer and study to bring a message of hope and nurture to his congregation. One day he learns that the elders have complained about his preaching to the conference president. They want somebody with more talent, more speaking ability. Plan B again!
Does Plan A ever materialize?
I don't think so. God—and the rest of us—have been stuck with Plan B since Adam and Eve decided they didn't like Plan A.
What can we do about it?
Good approaches, pat answers, and cliches all sound the same when dealing with Plan B. But for me the following six suggestions, learned during 20 years in the school of hard knocks, help make the experience easier and less destructive. Using them will save much questioning of God's presence in your life.
1. Understand that God deals with Plan B every day. No matter how far from the ideal Plan B may stray, God is still in control. There are parameters beyond which it may not go. If we trust God and realize that, we can cope more easily with Plan B.
God controls the circumstances of today and He sees the end as it will be. Everyone and everything is a finished product in His eyes. We have those same options. Day by day, with His help, we work to bring Plan B closer to the ideal.
2. Realize that no matter how clever and talented you may be, you will never live up to everyone's expectations for you. We may set goals and shoot for them. We may have ideals and try to live by them. But we will never please everyone all of the time. It's true, and we have to live with it.
Many people consider as their good points only those things they do well all of the time. But none of us are completely consistent; so with this attitude we might never consider ourselves good at anything. We often consider a minor or rare misdemeanor as a terrible character flaw. When judging ourselves, we don't see gray—only black and white. When confronted with Plan B, we need to remember that with God's help we are doing the best we can in our situation. That's all we can do.
3. Contemplate the past. I don't mean the ancient past. I mean your personal past with God. Using hindsight helps us see God's workings in our lives so much more clearly. While we are sinking in Plan B's quicksand, it is hard to see God's plan. It's usually as murky as a glass of muddy water—and about as appealing! But as we look at the past we often can see the pattern of the Lord's dealings with us. Wonder of wonders—as we have muddled through Plan B with His aid, He has brought to pass what we had hoped Plan A would accomplish!
4. Enjoy what you have. I don't mean that we must accept Plan B as the ideal, but that we should see the good in the situation that we find ourselves. Instead of howling for Plan A, we should count the blessings in Plan B—and there almost always are some. Going back to our previous examples, when only one parishioner showed up for church, the pas tor and his wife at least had one to thank God for. Every rain cloud holds a rain bow—we just have to look for it. Nobody said it would be easy, but it sure beats moping around down in the bulrushes waiting for Plan A.
5. Brighten the corner where you are. We are stuck with Plan B. We can wear sackcloth and ashes and bemoan our fate, we can quit what we're doing in hopes of catching hold of Plan A in some other way, or we can be like Paul and, while not really accepting our circumstances, learn to live with them. Instead of beating against the bars of fate's prison, we can change what we can and accept what we can't change. These kinds of situations befall people every day. Now, I don't plan to sit around being fearful; instead, I plan to go through whatever Plan B throws at me in the company of my Friend. Our attitude toward Plan B can make our lives acceptable and satisfying or make them miserable and wearying. It all depends on our outlook.
6. Hang on to God. This obvious ad vice is older than the Grand Canyon and as new as the baby born next May. So why include it? It's usually what we don't do until all else has failed. Why not start out hanging onto God ? Continue to hold onto Him daily, minute by minute, and when things get rough just dangle there until the tidal waves of Plan B smooth out into ripples. In doing this, I never feel alone, and I am comforted and reassured every step of the way. Besides filling ourselves with God's Word and spending time in prayer, sharing what God has done for us in the past extinguishes the flames of Plan B's dragon breath. When we do so, we not only re member His care but by hearing our selves say the words, we reinforce our faith.
So how do we react to Plan B? With optimism, courage, and God? Or do we let it defeat us?
Why fret, railing against circumstances when with God we can be long-suffering, if not completely satisfied and content in whatever situation we find ourselves?
If God is with us, who can be against us?
