Event Planner

When we think of an event planner, we think of weddings, and parties, and galas etc. But yesterday, I returned to a bible study that I had frequented many times last year, and she is at it again in her outstanding approach to bringing Christ alive through her presentation of his word and the visual pictures that she creatures as persuasion to seek and honor Christ. This years' theme is: "The Event Planner, Trusting God with His Plan for Your Life." As I sat there and listened to Pam, a bible study teacher at Second Baptist, I noticed that the room was still, really still and quiet. She kept her audience completely engaged with her stories of the bible mingled in with her real life stories of application. And I couldn't help but think my writings so many times just light step the magnificent God who we worship. Pam's passion for the power, authority, reverence, able ability and holy ground of God was captivating as she spoke of it in relation to all fronts of our lives.

God, as an event planner...really? Yet it made such perfect sense when she supported it with selected verses and the story in 2 Samuel where David, who was now king, invited Mephibosheth, to join his table not just for a one time experience but for a lifetime, and as he grew, his family too was accepted as welcomed guests. Mephebesheph, crippled in both feet , was, for all practical purposes a lame duck outsider, who had come from a family of enemies of David. All would have suspected that Mephibosheth would just wither away in a distant and obscure location, unrecognized and dishonored. But David found out that there was one last living relative of Johnathan, his dear friend who was the child of the disgruntled and defeated King Saul, and he sought to find Mephiboseth and care for him for the rest of his life. God had planned the event, all characters included, all details worked out. Pam went on to explain that God is the event planner of each of our lives. He covers every detail and nothing is left unworked or unplanned. When we think that God has had to jump to Plan "B", in lieu of distractions or counter balanced adversities, it actually was in his plan "A" all the while. For God already knew what was coming and had planned accordingly for it in our lives, and for his ultimate glory.

It is hard to absorb the fact that God, in all of his majesty has committed to be the event planner of each of our lives. That we are the honorees, the recipients of all of his grace, mercy, forgiveness and love....not to mention planning. That truth remains impregnable and is the solid foundation that we, as Christains are to stand. God knows the desires of our hearts and sees when things have not gone as we would have liked and dreams have been shattered and the pieces of our heart seem to be scattered into pieces that seemingly could never be whole again. But he is the ultimate event planner, and he knows how to incorporate those scattered pieces in our lives so that he can and will transform them into a whole new dream, one that he has designed especially for you and I. We must hold tight to that trust and be steeped in that hope.

The deal is that we too often times want to grab his title of event planner and want to orchestrate our own events. But there will always be flaws and security issues that outreach the bounds of our finite understanding and planning. We are not able or equipped on our own, no matter how savvy we think we are, to maintain success without God's help and overseeing ability to guide us through the plan that he has ordained. We can teeter for a while on the fence of success but the balancing act of staying upward when unexpected distractions clutter our path is tough to do, especially when we let go of God's hand of security.

We hear the word plan often in verses read from the bible, but I don't think I will hear the word again in context without relating it to God being an event 'plan'ner. Consider these verses from the aspect of an event planning position.

Ephesians 2:4-7 says:
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

1) Because of his great love, he made us alive...the sin deal alone would have killed us...literally
2) It is by his grace that we have been saved...God established a plan, penalty of sin would be paid for through death and life would follow through resurrection 3) Raised us up with Christ...God allowed us entrance into His eternal kingdom by giving Christ the right to die for our sins and claim us 4) Seated us with him in the heavenly realms...we are united with Christ through the Holy Spirit 5) So that later he might show the riches of his grace...while we are on this earth the riches of his power and sufficiency are ours for the asking now and forever 6) He did it through kindness in Christ, pretty big kindness!

This was his plan for us through Christ and he covered his every base in every details. Have we been blessed? Yes, in ways that are unimaginable, unfathomable and often times intangible. There are no flaws in his plans, no discrepancies in his sovereignty, and no detail that has been overlooked.

I look forward to exploring this sixteen week study of God, in his event planner role. I hope you too will be blessed by occasional reflections and insights that I learn along the way. And as an extra bonus for me personally, this is a bible study that my two, in town, daughters are active in as well. Jennifer was, in fact the one who got me involved in last years study. Shows you how just the mention of a place where the name of Christ is being proclaimed can reap rewards to another. See, God initiated even that! The riches of his grace!

Dear Lord, What a precious reminder this lesson was to me that you are the ultimate event planner of my life. Thank you for your tireless efforts to teach me, to transform me and to train me to honor your authority and follow your lead. Amen
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!