March 23, 2015 - Making Adjustments

I’m not sure how long you have been reading these weekly devotions but if you have been with us for a while you know at this time of year I get excited talking about March MADness. And in honor of the tourney I’m typing another “buzzer-beater” late night devotion… just need to make the midnight deadline.

It is exciting watching games where underdogs play the favorites tight or even pull the upset. It is exciting when your favorite teams are in the tourney and doing well. But the reality of the tourney is that the higher seeds often go down to defeat to the lower seeds.

It’s really all about match-ups. Of course there are the upsets where one team is cold and the other team hot, but mostly it is about style of play and ability to adapt to different styles. I heard the analysts talking about the fact that teams that can only “play one way” are at a disadvantage in the tourney as they are going to face teams that will change the tempo, style of defense, etc. The reality is that a good team (and obviously good players) are those that are ready to face obstacles; those that can adapt and overcome; those that can adjust on the fly; those that can receive new instruction from the coach and implement it.

I tell those that go on mission trips with us that the first rule is to be “dogmatically committed to flexibility.” It is amazing how often one has to adjust when serving in a different culture. And the reality is that every day even here at home brings unexpected changes. It doesn’t matter how many plans we make, we need to know that they simply may not unfold the way we envisioned.

I was reading through some of the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts and it is crazy how often he and his partners had to change course. At times they had to flee for their safety. At times God had them be even bolder in their speech. At times the Holy Spirit prompted where to go and what to say; at other times the Holy Spirit forbade them from speaking or going to certain places. Basically we see that they were in it for the journey more than specific destinations. They made plans but always with the understanding that they were willing to adjust course…

Proverbs 16:1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Let’s be dogmatically committed to flexibility to go wherever doing whatever the Lord directs! Let’s adjust to whatever the day brings us! Let’s live a MAD (Make A Difference) life!