[Certainty In The Uncertainty Series] The Plan of God and Response of ManShembull

God’s plan is to use your obedience and resources to exalt Jesus

We are currently under stay-at-home orders. We may still have weeks or months to go and, like me, you may be wondering if you have what it takes to endure this time of trouble. We are living in a historic moment as the world has been completely changed. We have been invaded by an invisible enemy that has proven all our certainties wrong. 

We may feel lost, uncertain, and wonder where God is in all of this. Please allow me to tell you that two thousand years ago, Jesus’ disciples often felt the same way. On one occasion, Jesus sent two of them ahead of the group to fetch a donkey. Jesus commanded them, “Go into the village over there… as soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what are you doing, just say, ‘the Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them” (Matthew 21:1–3 NTL). 

Can you imagine being asked to do such a thing? What an awkward thing to ask! Right now, Jesus may be asking you to do something that might seem unimportant or even a bit crazy: pray for this person, buy groceries for that neighbor, call your friend and offer to help her children with their homework, start a new business amid a pandemic. Yet somehow, your obedience can become God’s hidden weapon to fulfill His plans and make history!

You may think that it makes no sense to believe that offering help to a friend in need will turn out to make history, but that is precisely what happened when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt. God had planned to have that donkey and that specific colt at the village entrance at that exact moment, to fulfill a prophecy given by the prophet Zechariah hundreds of years before. 

Consider the detail of Jesus’ command and God’s design—His plan and purpose behind it all. The disciples were obedient and trusted Jesus and His words. What if you and I are part of God’s eternal plan in such a time as this? What if you and I are God’s instruments to carry out His purpose and show His glory in the city we live in? Are you willing to obey Him, even if you do not completely understand His plan?