So I often times rub up against the idea of God's will in our lives. I say "rub up" because I don't really have the theological wherewithal to really tackle that issue and I'm not really sure what i would say about it if I did. So I kinda skirt around the issue and make a tangental point. And that's what I'm going to do again.
I've been wondering for a long time, "How does one approach life if you are going to be looking for God's will, which is unknown? How does one make decisions? And what does it really look like to be open to God's will in a situation where you already had your own plans?
Once again I will rely on my two oldest and most trusted friends. Metaphors and Jim Tressel.
When Jim makes a game-plan, he does his research, he studies the other team, he prepares, and he comes up with a strategy and plan for the upcoming Saturday based on the knowledge he has, and his best guesswork on how the future is going to unfold. He uses past experience and all the powers at his human disposal to figure out the best way to get his team ready to win (and he dos so quite admirably I would say)
However, when the game comes, Jim doesn't just stick with the plan if it isn't working. And he doesn't script out an entire game's worth of plays. Instead he reads the situation as it unfolds and takes what the other team gives him. If the running game isn't working, he moves to the passing game. Game plans were meant to be tweaked, and if necessary, discarded.
What shall we say then? That coaches shouldn't make game-plans? That they should just wing it when they get to the game? By no means! The planning and preparation that takes place before helps to bring context to split decisions. Preparing is good stewardship and it shows that you are doing your best with the resources you have.
In real life you might not always be hearing the voice of God telling you what to do at every moment. In those instances you have to do your best with what you have. You need to marshal your resources, past experience, and knowledge to do what you think is best even if you are unsure what that is. The future is unknowable, and sometimes even the present is foggy.
Making a plan for the future, or picking a way to proceed at the present is not the absence of trust, it is the presence of responsibility and common sense. However, one needs to be able to abandon the "plan" at a moments notice when and if it becomes clear that God wants something else. How will you know? You might not. But over committing to your own plans isn't a way to find out. Actually it's ust a goof way to lose a ball game.
