Leaning

Brother Tom was mowing the grass in the church field when a neighbor called him over to the fence for a chat.  The neighbor was concerned about a huge oak tree on our property.  He was afraid it would fall on his house, so he wanted to give us a warning.  Brother Tom mentioned it to Pastor Jamie, and it went on the maintenance “to do” list.  I have a chain saw and love a challenge, so I went down to our field to survey the situation.  The tree was huge, and the tree was dead.  Very dead.  I had brought a string with me and a washer on the end for a plumb bob.  I held the string up lining it up with the tree and walked around until the body of the tree lined up with my plumb bob.  That was the way that the tree would fall.  I notched the base of the old oak tree on that side.  It was so big that I had to cut from both sides using my 24” chainsaw bar.  Then I began cutting into the other side to meet the notch.  As I neared the center, the cut began to widen: the tree was beginning to fall.  I walked backwards (carefully so as not to trip) and watched.  The remaining trunk began to pop and squeal, and the old tree fell to the ground with a powerful thud.  I walked to the truck, put my saw in the back, and noticed three neighbors watching.  They called out “congratulations”.  They were impressed with my accuracy.  What they didn’t know was that I had no control over where the tree was going to fall.  It was already leaning, and no matter what I did, the big tree was going to fall that way.  It just looked like I had precisely dropped a huge tree.  But I didn’t tell them any different.  I just walked a little taller.  Hey, in my life, God is in control.  He has a plan and purpose for me.  I can fight God’s plan, or I can cooperate with God’s plan.  But God IS going to win.  Oh, I make my own decisions, but God already knows what I am going to decide, and God uses that information in His plan.  Paul said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  So, my best plan is to join with God’s plan.  If I join in God’s plan, things will work out best for me … and God will receive the glory!  After all, He alone is worthy of the praise!  Hey, embrace God’s plan and purpose for your life.  You’ll be glad that you did.