Improbable parts of God's plan

Every time it gets this cold I recall that old theme song from Chilly Willy.  The show started in the 1950s, well before I was born, but I was able to watch it through repeats on the Woody Woodpecker show in the 1980s.  During weeks like we have this week, where the cold seems to cut right to the bone, I sing the theme song to myself as I venture forth into the cold.

“I'm Chilly Willy the penguin. I shake until I'm blue. My head is hot and my feet are cold. Ha...Hee...Hachoo!”

As Minnesotans we take a false pride in braving the weather.  Asking one another, “Cold/Hot enough for ya?” Or we try to focus on the positive aspects of the weather, “Hope the ice gets thick enough to fish.”  I am looking forward to the last couple weeks of small game hunting where I can go out and be in the woods looking for a few rabbits, while praising God for the beauty He created for me to enjoy.

The struggle I think we have is that sometimes we look at our situation and wonder, what we did to deserve this.  With the weather we know that it is varied, but there is a pattern to it.  We can say that these coldest and, on the other extreme, hottest days are part of the pattern and God’s plan to renew and all the land to rest.

The situations that I want to talk about are those that we find ourselves in from time to time, or all the time.  A financial struggle, the loss of a friend, loneliness, stress, anxiety, or depression are all situations that we see people increasingly find themselves in.  And on the other extreme joy at the birth of a child, hope at the consecration of a marriage, excitement at the purchase of a new house, pride in good grades; from one extreme to the other how are we to respond to bad times and good?

As followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to view good times and bad with the filter of eternity.  We can look at a situation and recognize that God needs to work things out and our faith in Him can see us through if we allow God to work.  We often focus on the problems instead of the solution.  God is the solution; we need to follow and focus on Him.

When I watched Chilly Willy as a child, I wondered why he was sneezing if he was a penguin and why he was so cold.  How did that dog, Smedley, get to where penguins live?  So many improbable things happening in a cartoon show.  I feel like my life is that way too sometimes, so many improbable things happening at the same time in my life.

Each one of those improbable things are a part of God’s plan to build our faith in Him.  He calls us to rest in His power when all seems lost.  Isaiah 41:10-13 reminds us:

10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.

12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.

13 For I am the LORD , your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Let us not fear venturing forth in this life, because God’s plan is greater than our own.  The problems we face, we do not face them alone, but with God’s hand upholding us.  Let us hold onto His hand as He leads us through the struggles of this life.