Technically it’s a seabed. To the casual observer, what I know to be a seabed would appear to be desert valleys surrounded by mountains. My eyes show breathtaking mountain views, sculpted cliff-sides, and high, jagged peaks ... and a paved highway winding its way through the connecting valleys. All around me are the signs of desert life: cacti, scrub, juniper, dry ground, and dry air.
Turn back the clock ~265 million years and the very place I am driving is far beneath the waves of the Permian Sea. On the one hand, I’m driving on dry land. But on the other hand, I am simultaneously driving on the bed of the Permian Sea. It can be a bit disorienting to juggle these two thoughts.
I can’t help but wonder if this kind of confusion might account for the behavior of God’s chosen people. God told the Israelites He would deliver them from Pharaoh, would "go before" them, would provide for their needs, would "drive out" the peoples living in the Promised Land so the Children of Israel could then occupy it ... Plan A, if you will.
Jacob's descendants kept insisting they knew better than God; their Plan B. They kept returning to the worship of the Egyptian gods. They fought battles to take the Promised Land. They wanted a king of their own (See the Exodus 32 and Psalm 106 passages).
So, God kept reminding them that it was He who brought them out of Egypt. God reminded them that He would provide for them. God used miracles to do so.
And yet, year by year, they moved further and further away, while God kept trying to keep their hearts pointed at Him. When they went to battle without His approval, they lost. When their King disobeyed, God replaced that king with His own choice. Even God's prophets kept reminding them of Plan A: trust God for your needs and trust Him to handle your enemies.
God can see it all. God understands, fully. And God asks us to trust him when it comes to facts not presently in evidence. This week’s scriptures revolve around this idea of trusting God, depending on God’s promises, having faith that what God has told us is the truth (see the Isaiah passage).
Jesus and those he sent keep pointing us back to God's Plan A: love your enemies and pray for them, trust God with your concerns (See the Philippians passage). Instead of filling our minds with things like revenge, He points us to the best thoughts; the kinds of thoughts we can think all day every day ... if we're not busy planning the downfall of our enemies!
For some reason, though, we humans keep insisting there must be a Plan B ... the plan we come up with that is not God's plan. Why do we do that?
If we’re driving through the Big Bend, what we see is mountains, valleys, cacti, scrub brush, and desert life. But, if we’re willing to allow a different perspective —to believe what we’ve been told— we can also see something from a different time: an ocean teeming with aquatic life.
God has a better perspective from which to “see” all that is true and real, much of which we cannot perceive. And so, God asks us to trust in His plan, to believe what we’ve been told, to stop trying to live our own "Plan B."
We, too, can choose to follow Plan A.
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PHOTO: Steve Orr (the Big Bend near Fort Davis, Texas)
Different versions of this reflection appeared in prior years as There is no Plan B (2017) and Plan A (2014).
Info about the Permian Sea: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/when-texas-was-bottom-sea-180953653/
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We again gather (via Zoom) for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Friday morning. Join us at 8:00 a.m. for Bible, prayer, discussion, and laughter.
Let me know if you plan to attend so I can send you the Zoom link and alert our Zoom gatekeeper to let you in.
Enjoy the week!
Steve
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