The Best Laid Plans

“Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.”

~Matthew 26:31-35

The quote by Robert Burns, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” is one of my favorites. In fact, there’s times when it seems to be my life’s mantra. I make decisions to study the Bible more, pray more, worship more, attend church more, be kinder to others, always smile and say nice things no matter how I feel, to not sound cross, and let the actions of others slide off instead of responding with something less than kind—I don’t always succeed and then I feel guilty because I didn’t only fall short of my own expectations but I am sure I let God down again. I begin kicking myself for not having more self-control, for not being good enough, for not loving Jesus enough to be able to follow through on my own promises. It’s not that I intend to let the Lord down, I really try hard not to, but I fail just like Peter did. I would never do anything to let the Lord down, I tell myself, but I do, and like Peter, all I can do is cry and berate myself.

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing (Romans 7:18-19)”. 

Paul also had a problem doing the things he told himself he would do but instead, did the things he said he wouldn’t do. He also said he was the greatest of sinners and berated himself for the things he did that he was sure Christ could never forgive him for. Failing seems to be universal but what isn’t universal is how we continue after we’ve failed. When Judas Iscariot failed Jesus, he hanged himself. When Peter failed, he cried for a while, but we see Peter come back stronger than ever. So, we have a choice when we feel as if we’ve failed, we can be Judas or we can be Peter. While we may feel like Judas from time to time and want to lay down and die while wallowing in our failure, the Spirit of God within us rallies us to come back like Peter. No matter how we might feel, we have to remember that feelings pass. They are volatile like waves on the ocean—feelings cannot be trusted to guide us to where we want to be. Instead, we must rely on Jesus Christ within us.

“No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from Me,” declares the Lord (Isaiah 54:17).”

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord (Psalm 40:1-3).”

Read Jeremiah 1-5

© 2017 Marie McGaha