An air crash on June 23, 1980, stunned India. That day when doing aircraft acrobatics Sanjay Gandhi nosedived to his death. Sanjay Gandhi was the son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Historians say that Indira was mentoring him to be her successor as the President of Indian National Congress and the Prime Minister of India. That accident grounded her plans. It redirected the course of India's politics and history. Even, Indira's families of two sons ended up in two rival political camps.
The truth is all that we plan around people have a 'use before' date. Bible affirms this truth that we have observed in history and personal lives many times. Psalm 146:3,4 says: 'Put not your trust in princes,in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs he returns to the earth;on that very day his plans perish.'
The mortal human being can fulfil his plans only while he is alive and is able. It is true that a visionary can pass on his dreams to his successors. The successors may fulfil it or fail it. King Solomon, the wisest man who lived on earth knew that all that he achieved so far is futile. The reason for his frustration is that he has to hand over all of them to his successor whose abilities he was not sure of. So he lamented: 'I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity' (Eccl. 2:18-19, ESV).
This revelation that plans that we make have no guarantee of success is disturbing, to say the least. Then where is stability? This may make us depressed. However, a person like the Psalmist who trust in God and entrusts his plans to God has no reason for despair.
Psalmist congratulates those who have their plans built around God (146:5). He argues that you can trust God with your plans for many reasons. First of all, God is the creator of all that we see and experience. Secondly, he can be trusted since faithful is his character. God's faithfulness lasts as long as he is alive and God is eternal (146:6).
A child of God realizes that they have absolutely no control over their plans. However, they also realize that God is in absolute control of their lives. The psalmist then goes on illustrating this truth.
The farmer may go hungry when the weather fails him. Or it could be a pestilence that plunges that whole land into famine. That happens even in the most developed countries. If no famine, a price hike is expected. However, God is faithful to feed the hungry when human plans don't work the way they ought to. God is the one who 'gives food to the hungry' (146:7).
One of my colleagues had a very happy marriage and a wonderful family. Everything was going fine with them. They had plans for their only son, plans for great days of retired life. A phone call on that fateful afternoon changed all that. She was waiting for her husband to come home any time that afternoon. The police rang up to ask her to come to the hospital to identify the body of her husband who died in an accident. You might have heard many such stories where a wife turns a widow in a matter of minutes and children turn orphans as well. However, the children of God find comfort in the assurance that 'he upholds the widow and the fatherless' (146:9).
When Jehoiachin was imprisoned in Babylon, he never imagined that he will be free one day. He spent a long 37 years in prison. However, the emperor of Babylon released him at the end of that long prison term. He was not only free but he was treated royally. He got his royal robes back, he dined at the emperor's table daily (Jer 52:31-34). This is not just an old story. God has repeated this in the life of my friend's son recently. He was taken hostage while serving as a doctor with a relief agency in Afghanistan. He spent many months in a Taliban camp as a hostage. However, at a time no one ever imagined the US Navy Seals rescued him. It was a freedom that he never imagined. The psalmist puts that truth rather concisely as 'The Lord sets the prisoners free' (146:7).
We live in a world of uncertainties. Nothing is stable and nothing is permanent. All that we build around human beings are tend to fail. However, it is not all that uncertain and unstable for those who trust God. God is in charge, human plans may fail, but his plans never. Sometimes God even frustrates human plans so that his plan for us may prevail.
The truth is all that we plan around people have a 'use before' date. Bible affirms this truth that we have observed in history and personal lives many times. Psalm 146:3,4 says: 'Put not your trust in princes,in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs he returns to the earth;on that very day his plans perish.'
The mortal human being can fulfil his plans only while he is alive and is able. It is true that a visionary can pass on his dreams to his successors. The successors may fulfil it or fail it. King Solomon, the wisest man who lived on earth knew that all that he achieved so far is futile. The reason for his frustration is that he has to hand over all of them to his successor whose abilities he was not sure of. So he lamented: 'I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity' (Eccl. 2:18-19, ESV).
This revelation that plans that we make have no guarantee of success is disturbing, to say the least. Then where is stability? This may make us depressed. However, a person like the Psalmist who trust in God and entrusts his plans to God has no reason for despair.
Psalmist congratulates those who have their plans built around God (146:5). He argues that you can trust God with your plans for many reasons. First of all, God is the creator of all that we see and experience. Secondly, he can be trusted since faithful is his character. God's faithfulness lasts as long as he is alive and God is eternal (146:6).
A child of God realizes that they have absolutely no control over their plans. However, they also realize that God is in absolute control of their lives. The psalmist then goes on illustrating this truth.
The farmer may go hungry when the weather fails him. Or it could be a pestilence that plunges that whole land into famine. That happens even in the most developed countries. If no famine, a price hike is expected. However, God is faithful to feed the hungry when human plans don't work the way they ought to. God is the one who 'gives food to the hungry' (146:7).
One of my colleagues had a very happy marriage and a wonderful family. Everything was going fine with them. They had plans for their only son, plans for great days of retired life. A phone call on that fateful afternoon changed all that. She was waiting for her husband to come home any time that afternoon. The police rang up to ask her to come to the hospital to identify the body of her husband who died in an accident. You might have heard many such stories where a wife turns a widow in a matter of minutes and children turn orphans as well. However, the children of God find comfort in the assurance that 'he upholds the widow and the fatherless' (146:9).
When Jehoiachin was imprisoned in Babylon, he never imagined that he will be free one day. He spent a long 37 years in prison. However, the emperor of Babylon released him at the end of that long prison term. He was not only free but he was treated royally. He got his royal robes back, he dined at the emperor's table daily (Jer 52:31-34). This is not just an old story. God has repeated this in the life of my friend's son recently. He was taken hostage while serving as a doctor with a relief agency in Afghanistan. He spent many months in a Taliban camp as a hostage. However, at a time no one ever imagined the US Navy Seals rescued him. It was a freedom that he never imagined. The psalmist puts that truth rather concisely as 'The Lord sets the prisoners free' (146:7).
We live in a world of uncertainties. Nothing is stable and nothing is permanent. All that we build around human beings are tend to fail. However, it is not all that uncertain and unstable for those who trust God. God is in charge, human plans may fail, but his plans never. Sometimes God even frustrates human plans so that his plan for us may prevail.