When we pray asking for God’s will to be done, we must realize what that means.  When God answers, are we ready with obedient, grateful hearts?  Do we pray asking God to bless our plans?  Are we okay with God changing or altering our plans?  We are created to be creative with ideas to steward well what God has so graciously given to us.  We were created with higher thinking than animals.  We were given brains with skills to solve problems, build and repair, and to plan while counting the costs. 

We were “made in the image of God” but we are not God.  They are many ways to declare God glory, many details of life that give God praise, many plans that seem like the best to pursue, but God decides and confirms the final blueprint to follow to achieve His purpose and plan for His glory and for our best.  All that is good comes from God.

Paul was sent on a special mission by Jesus to tell His story of redemption.  How that mission is achieved is planned by Paul and his fellow believers who work hard to complete the work God has given them to do in Jesus Name.  However, Paul also knows that the “best-made plans” of men alone cannot compare to the will, purpose, and plan of God.  Paul has learned to yield to God’s final yes, no, or wait as he lives his life to please God first and only.  Not everyone he meets agrees…

2 Corinthians 1, The Message

^1-2 I, Paul, have been sent on a special mission by the Messiah, Jesus, planned by God himself. I write this to God’s congregation in Corinth, and to believers all over Achaia province. May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours! Timothy, someone you know and trust, joins me in this greeting.

The Rescue

^3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.

^6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.

^8-11 We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.

^12-14 Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised. Don’t try to read between the lines or look for hidden meanings in this letter. We’re writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that you’ll now see the whole picture as well as you’ve seen some of the details. We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together before our Master Jesus.

^15-16 Confident of your welcome, I had originally planned two great visits with you—coming by on my way to Macedonia province, and then again on my return trip. Then we could have had a bon-voyage party as you sent me off to Judea. That was the plan.

^17-19 Are you now going to accuse me of flip-flopping with my promises because it didn’t work out? Do you think I talk out of both sides of my mouth—a glib yes one moment, a glib no the next? Well, you’re wrong. I try to be as true to my word as God is to his. Our word to you wasn’t a careless yes canceled by an indifferent no. How could it be? When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed the Son of God among you, did you pick up on any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? Wasn’t it a clean, strong Yes?

^20-22 Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.

²³ Now, are you ready for the real reason I didn’t visit you in Corinth? As God is my witness, the only reason I didn’t come was to spare you pain. I was being considerate of you, not indifferent, not manipulative.

²⁴ We’re not in charge of how you live out the faith, looking over your shoulders, suspiciously critical. We’re partners, working alongside you, joyfully expectant. I know that you stand by your own faith, not by ours.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Paul began his letter with a doxology of praise for God and His Son who saved us! He certainly could not sing about his circumstances, but he could sing about the God who is in control of all circumstances. Paul had learned that praise is an important factor in achieving victory over discouragement and depression.  Paul reiterates to the weak Corinthians that whatever the Father did for Jesus when He was ministering on earth, He is able to do for them (and us) today. Paul made plans but God had the final say.

In hardship, the Corinthians forgot what Paul told them about how Jesus saved them from their sins and set them free to live as new creations in Christ.  They left the “joy of their salvation” behind and fell back to their old ways, culture, and traditions.  As “babes” in the faith, they were disappointed that Paul was not able to visit and tell them what to do and be; therefore, their weak faith in Christ faltered. 

Our lesson:  Yes, we’re in this together, however, we learn that our faith and connection to God was made possible by Jesus Christ alone.  People do not save us.  Only Jesus saves us.  We cannot stand firm by relying on mere men and women whom God is perfecting on their journey.  We cannot rely on God’s church of imperfect people to save us.  As imperfect people who are learning and growing, we can only point people to Jesus—the only one who is perfect.  We worship, praise, honor God, not men and women.  We help each other in good times and bad—always looking to God!

Our faith is built in God alone!  No matter what happens around us, it is ultimately God who rescues us.  Our Hope is Jesus who reconnected us to God by His death for our sins.  God’s Plan.  God then raised Jesus to new life, giving us life eternal.  “For God so loved…”

Second Corinthians was written less than a year after 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote because he was delayed in his visit to Corinth. People were upset.  Leaders criticized.  Paul began explaining his actions among the Corinthians by reviewing his relationship with them.  God’s comfort and deliverance are certainties, even in the middle of difficult trials. We can confidently rely upon God as we make our plans.  God never fails. God loves even the details of our lives.  Trust God.

There is no yes-and-no about Jesus Christ. He is God’s “eternal yes” to those who trust Him. Jesus Christ reveals the promises, fulfills the promises, and enables us to claim God’s promises!  Where God guides us, He provides for all who surrender to His plan.

God enables us to enjoy the blessings of heaven in our hearts today! Because of God’s Holy Spirit living within and guiding him; Paul was able to have a clear conscience and face misunderstandings with love and patience. If you live to please people, misunderstandings will depress you; but if you live to please God, you can face misunderstandings with faith and courage in the One who gives life!

We plan—God decides.

Lord,

We are your sheep who need to listen for your voice and follow without hesitation.  You are the sin remover, problem solver, healer, comforter, and great Counselor.  You lead and shepherd us to what is best for us.  You live within us, never leaving us. Why trust anyone or anything else but you?  All I am is yours.  Take me, cleanse me, renew my mind, transform my behaviors, and restore the joy of you in me and me in you.  I lean on your wisdom to take me where I need to go and tell me what you want for my life.  Make your desires for me be the desires of my heart.  Thank you, Lord.

In Jesus Name, Amen