The Great Plan

Twelve spies went into the land God had promised, but they didn’t all have the same report when they returned. Most of them saw how big the land’s inhabitants were, so big that they saw themselves as grasshoppers. Was their report wrong? No, not as far as it went. Without question, considering what they saw, to invade this land would have been complete foolishness. Suicide.
Joshua and Caleb saw the same things, but they offered a different conclusion. Sure, there were giants in the land, but that wasn’t a problem. Why? The giants were big, but God was bigger. They believed, if it was God’s plan, it had to work.
Our society believes in vision. Set lofty goals. Plan your work and work your plan. How well does this work? Ask any of the millions of businesses and individuals who filed for bankruptcy last year. So much for belief in just any plan.
The often-quoted Bible verse that says, “Without a vision, the people perish,” isn’t talking about just any plan. It’s talking about following God one step at a time. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, following a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, the Israelites learned something about following God.
If God is our Lord and leader, then we must be the servant followers, who don’t have a blueprint to put us under control. At best, we have a sense of direction. Nevertheless, we can run with confidence because we know God is in control, and he knows where he’s taking us.