Dr. Rick Mandl - July 14, 2020
Man Plans And God Laughs
Man Plans And God Laughs
Tuesday July 14, 2020
“Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” is an old Yiddish adage that means, “Man Plans, and God Laughs.” That saying is a reminder that despite our most careful planning - life is unpredictable - and unexpected changes will inevitably occur. I was reminded of that at the beginning of this week.
Just this past Sunday, someone was telling me about a lawsuit that was about to be filed against our governor. The suit was prompted by the ban that Governor Newsom had issued last week, on Monday July 6th... A ban that said that to slow the spread of the Coronavirus . . . places of worship must . . . discontinue indoor singing. That was last Monday, July 6th. This Monday, yesterday July 13th things changed, and it would seem that it’s no longer necessary to worry about the Governor’s prohibition regarding singing in churches, because for the time being churches are not allowed to meet. In case you didn’t see it, in order to slow the spread of the Coronavirus, our Governor issued an order yesterday requiring statewide closures of a list of indoor businesses. Included on that list are... restaurants, wineries, movie theaters, zoos, bowling alleys, miniature golf courses, cardrooms, bars, fitness centers, hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors. barbershops, indoor malls, non-critical offices, and oh yes, places of worship.
There are some, within the church, who believe that all of those businesses that I named at the beginning of that list... Those are all just a smokescreen, to conceal the real agenda. And that this is all a part of a secret plan by the radical left to reshape society, and the church is their first target. Now of course, I have no way of knowing whether this is true, because it is after all, a secret plan. And no one on the inside has phoned me to tip me off as to the existence of this secret plan to reshape society but I do know that many people sincerely believe that this plan exists. I would imagine that there are others - - - specifically those who make their living operating fitness centers, who are equally sincere in their belief that, that by shutting down all of the fitness centers, all of the gyms, all of the places that people go to exercise and try and stay in shape, the governor has a radical plan to reshape society by keeping us from staying in shape. Again, who is right, and who is wrong? I have no idea.
What I do know is that the Bible tells us that as we look to the future, it’s a good idea to plan, but as we plan, we need to hold those plans loosely and always leave room for God to redirect. James 4:13-16 tells us, "Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil." I think about those words, and I realize that we had plans to see some of you this Sunday at 11:00 for live worship here in our Worship Center, but God, not Governor Newsom, or the radical left, or anyone else had other plans.
So we’ll look forward to seeing you online this weekend. Saturday at 5:30, Sunday at 9:00, or 11:00, or 1:00 or 6:00, Or Wednesday at 7:00PM. Until then, keep praying that all of us will remember that God is in control and that no plan or purpose of this can ever be thwarted. God bless you church family.
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