Good News For Planners

Today’s good news comes from 1 Corinthians 25: “The foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”  I hope this resonates with someone like it has with me. I’m here in Costa Rica, eating a simple breakfast from a local market and sipping coffee in bed with the ocean outside my window.

This is no Americanised resort-style view. Our hotel embodies the meaning of Pura Vida — set in the tropical mountainside looking over Santa Teresa. In every sense of the word, we are completely immersed in the “jungle”. Huge spiny-tailed iguanas and groups of monkeys eat and play in the trees outside our window. We can see tropical rains producing waterspouts over the Pacific from our balcony. Why is this all so important to mention? Because I had nothing to do with getting here.

I used to live a much different way. My life was fixed around a realistic formula: “If I do this, then this will happen. If I don’t do that, then that won’t happen.” But what happens when life events don’t cooperate with our formula and the desires of our heart don’t line up with what seems realistic? Are we forced to live a life lesser than what we dream of? I do not believe that this is what God has for us. The Creator of all things did not make such an incredible space for us to exist in, only to be kept in a spiritual or physical box.

One might think that Ben and I must have so much, or saved for so long, to be able to go on a trip like this. The truth is, we have been praying for an opportunity to see the world and our prayers were answered. There was no formula that brought us here. We didn’t have to save, we didn’t need a lot, we relied on the resources of God and His promise to give us the desires of our heart. I mean this from the deepest parts of my being — giving your life plan to God ALWAYS works out better than anything you could come up with on our own.

This takes time, and no one is perfect. Making this kind of lifestyle change takes discipline because we naturally want to be able to expect what will happen or take what is convenient. But if we’re willing to sacrifice some comfort and focus on God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding, I believe we will find our lives to be overflowing with unimaginable and unexpected blessings – Pura Vida!

Till next time – Ciao!