What Are You Going to Do?Sýnishorn

What are you going to do when your plan falls through?

“…much and lasting good has been wrought in the church and the community.”

Everett Swanson couldn’t have asked for a better review. It was the 1930s equivalent of “like” and “follow.” His plan was coming together. Traveling throughout the United States with his wife and his newborn baby, Everett was sharing the good news of the gospel to "tentfuls" of people, night after night. When he asked local leaders to write recommendations, they were glowing. Entire communities were being impacted by Everett’s gift of evangelism. And—more importantly—people were hearing the story of Jesus’ love. Everett wanted to keep traveling and speaking for the rest of his life!

But Everett’s life wasn’t just about being an evangelist. He was the son of aging parents. He was a husband. He was also the father of a toddler, and his wife Miriam had just told him that another baby was on the way. Everett’s plan was disappearing. His career path seemed to be veering off in a different destination, and he didn’t want it to.

The path that God gave Everett Swanson curved toward a position with an organization that meant he would only be traveling in Washington state, something that felt disappointing. But it also meant he would have a stable income and a home where his new family could settle in and grow.

Everett knew his Bible and often quoted from the Psalms. The 23rd Psalm, familiar to many, includes the beautiful reminder that “He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3) He felt God asking him, “Everett, what are you going to do?” The Swansons moved to Washington.

Later, God’s path for Everett curved again, this time toward pastoring a church in rural Washington state, something he had never considered. Still later, His path would send Everett to a pastorate in the city of Chicago, a place he would have never chosen to go.

God took Everett’s dream of communicating and steered him down a path he had never dreamed of. In the years to come, God would use Everett Swanson to found a world-wide child advocacy ministry that would impact more than two million children in need around the world: Compassion International.

YOUR TURN:

• Was there a time in your life when important plans fell through? Did you feel angry, frightened, disappointed…or something else? How did you work through those emotions?
• What path do you think God is leading you along today? Is it different than a year ago? Than five years ago?