#15 Moments of Hope with Pastor Jerry Rice

Most of us like to be in control. Millions of calendars and planners are sold each year. We buy these calendars because we like to make plans about where we will be and what we will do on any given day. But what happens when things don’t go according to our picture-perfect calendars? A month or two ago so many of us were sure of our plans. Weddings were planned. Business trips were arranged. Senior prom and graduation was on the calendar. Plane tickets were booked. We knew exactly what we were going to do and when we were going to do it…or maybe we just thought we knew.
The Bible tells us not to be too sure of our own plans. James 4:13-14 says, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.”
We don’t know what tomorrow will bring?!That’s not something we like to hear. We like to think that we are in complete command of our own lives. But we are told in scripture that God should always be part of our plans. James 4:15 says, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”
“If it is the Lord’s will”…imagine if we actually added that phrase to our thought process when planning out our lives. By daily submitting our lives and plans to God, we confess by our actions that He is Lord of every area of our lives. Planning and preparing are good things, but they can become idols if God is not always in our hearts and minds as we make our plans.
Tomorrow will be Palm Sunday. On this day over two thousand years ago, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the voices of people saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Matthew 21:10 says that as he entered Jerusalem, “the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’” People we’re taken off guard by the entrance of this King. “Who is he?” Jesus’ entrance into town and the events that would take place in the coming weeks were about to turn a lot of people’s lives upside down.
Bonhoeffer, a Christian man who found himself in prison because of his efforts to end Hitler’s reign said, “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.” As we enter into Holy Week, let’s make sure we leave room for Christ to “interrupt” our plans. His plans are better than any plans we could make anyway!