CONFOUNDING THE PLAN

Acts 5:21b-24

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin--the full assembly of the elders of Israel--and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, "We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside." On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.

The high priest (and his associates) had a lot of confidence in their plan. In fact, so much so they called the full assembly of the elders of Israel together, only to find out that Peter and John were no longer in jail -- despite the fact the door was locked and the guard was still in place. They had every reason to believe Peter and John would be there. But they weren't. God had a different plan.

When the captain of the temple guard and chief priests were confronted with the miraculous they were puzzled. "What just happened here? Where are they? They were here last night, what happened to them?" Once they had processed the fact that Peter and John were indeed gone, the next question they asked was, "What would come of this?" In other words, "What does this mean? Should we change our approach or direction? Have we missed something important?" Unfortunately, they didn't allow themselves to answer those questions, otherwise our story might have had a different ending. Instead they went right back to their plan, despite some really big holes and unanswered questions.

Have you ever felt puzzled when a plan you thought was perfect, didn't work out and you were shifted in a completely different direction? As new events began to shape did you also wonder, what would come of this? If you have, then you have probably had a God experience -- divine intervention in your life. God is alive, active, and concerned about us. When we get off track, He intervenes. He uses these interventions or interruptions to instruct and correct as well as to bring us back into fellowship and relationship with Him. We so often get caught in our own traditions and rituals like the Sanhedrin, that we completely miss God and His plan.

When God intervenes, do you ignore the miraculous and go right back to your plan? Or do you pause and prayerfully consider the question: What is God's purpose in this interruption? The yielding of your plan to His will is the answer.

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