What If You Were The Plan?预览

Last summer our family toured The Ark Encounter in Kentucky. It’s a life-sized replica of the ark Noah built using specifications from Genesis. The boat is gargantuan! All sorts of intricacies were illuminated for remaining on a structure like that for an undetermined amount of time. 

Somehow the experience brought to life aspects about Noah’s obedience I find perplexing. How could he believe God for something that big? Why would Noah trust God for what he had never experienced? And how could he possibly bring this whole thing together, including the animals—even if he had experienced rain? 

Let’s say he did build the huge boat, the animals could be gathered, all the details worked out for organizing the food and taking care of them, and the rain did fall. How could Noah be certain that monstrosity would float? This whole endeavor would most definitely require an assurance of hope for what cannot be seen. 

I wonder if Noah’s willingness to walk in obedience simply began as a father concerned about the preservation of his family?

Brian Luwis was a man thinking about his family, too, in the early 1990’s. He was just a regular guy with a normal job when he and his wife, Renee entered an orphanage in China to bring home their newly adopted daughter. What they saw and experienced penetrated Brian’s mind and heart for weeks after returning home. That experience, coupled with viewing the movie, “The Dying Rooms,” left him angry, questioning how God could allow such suffering and injustice. Luwis felt like God’s response turned the question back on him, 

“Brian, what are you doing?”

Certain of God’s leadership, but unsure how to move ahead, Luwis committed to being open to whatever the Lord wanted. He and Renee started America World Adoption in 1994 and have been serving families, orphans, and those in need globally for over twenty years. What began as a concern for his own family grew into a faith that spilled out of a life that is now impacting thousands, including mine. The impact of America Word Adoption is truly only a work God can do when we are willing to become part of His plan.

Pray for God to show you how He wants you to be a part of His plan. How can you be part of the plan that spills out of a life marked by faith?