The GPS

What our series "Plan B" is all about

Who doesn’t want to know God’s will for their lives?  And yet sometimes we view it like a Magic Eight Ball, jigsaw puzzle, maze, or a GPS.  What if God’s will wasn’t like any of those things?  Would we be so afraid of Plan B?

The GPS

Sometimes we wish that God would send us a step by step plan for His Will, or at least a vision to say what He wants for us.  However, most of the time we just feel like we walk by faith and doors keep slamming in our face.  In the Bible, Paul and Silas went through that is Acts 16.  They tried and tried to find where God wanted them to preach, but God kept shutting them out.  Then Paul gets a vision while in the city of Troas that he should go and preach in the province of Macedonia.  It seems like God sent this great, life-altering call, but when you look at the map, you see otherwise.  Based on the locations that they already were, we can see that Paul and his missionary group were already heading to Macedonia in the first place.  God closed the doors He didn’t want them to go through, and then when they started going the way He wanted, God confirmed their decision.  This is the way He normally leads us, not with visions but with closed doors to lead us to the ones He will open.

The Point

If we walk by faith, God will open the right doors

At Home Suggestions

Talk about a time when a door closed for you.  Talk about how you felt, and then how God used that to lead you to the open door that He wanted for you.

Read Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord. (NIV)

Ask: What does this ask us to do?  Why does it ask us to do it twice?  While we are waiting, what should we do?  Why is it so hard to become discouraged when we are waiting?  How can you be strong in that time?

Explain that we are asked (twice) to wait for the LORD.  The psalmist really wants to emphasize this because he knows how hard it is to be strong while waiting. 

Pray that your family would wait for God to open the right door as you walk by faith.

The Jigsaw Puzzle

What our series "Plan B" is all about

Who doesn’t want to know God’s will for their lives?  And yet sometimes we view it like a

Magic Eight Ball, jigsaw puzzle, maze, or a GPS.  What if God’s will wasn’t like any of those things?  Would we be so afraid of Plan B?

The Jigsaw Puzzle

Often we have a picture of how our lives are going to work out, only to become frustrated when the pieces don’t fit together that way.  James 4:13-16 asks us to reevaluate the way that we plan our own futures.  It’s not that we can’t make plans, but we must be sure that God is at the forefront of the plan-making process.  Without that our plans are merely arrogant boasting.  But when we ask God to direct our steps, it’s as if He hands us the pieces to the puzzle one at a time and creates a picture that is even more beautiful that we could ever have done on our own.

The Point

We make plans, but God is in control

At Home Suggestions

Talk to your teens about areas of your life that didn’t work out the way you planned.  Remind them that while it is very important to have dreams, goals, and even plans for their lives, they must allow God to shape those plans to His Will.  This isn’t easy (in fact, it’s kind of scary) but it allows Him to create the life that He has for us.

Read Isaiah 26:3 You will keep the mind that is dependent on You
in perfect peace,
for it is trusting in You. (HCSB)

Ask: What does it mean to be “dependent” on God?  When we do that, what does God promise to do?  How can trusting in God bring us peace about the things we can’t control?  How can trusting in ourselves rob us of peace?

Explain that even though we aren’t in control of every circumstance in our lives, God is.  When we trust in Him and His plan, rather than our own, we have peace about whatever comes our way.  When we trust ourselves instead of God, we don’t have peace because we’ve put ourselves in control of things that we can’t control.

Pray that your family would trust in God’s plan for your lives instead of in your own abilities.

The Magic Eight Ball

What our Series "Plan B" is all About

Who doesn’t want to know God’s will for their lives?  And yet sometimes we view it Magic Eight Ball, jigsaw puzzle, maze, or a GPS.  What if God’s will wasn’t like any of those things?  Would we be so afraid of Plan B?

The Magic Eight Ball

Many of us had this toy growing up, and we would ask it a “yes” or “no” question, shake, and then out of the murky blue would come an answer.  And even today, some of us wish that God would work that way too, giving us all the answers about everything He is calling us to.  In 1 Kings 19, God leads Elijah to call Elisha as his successor.  This wasn’t Elisha’s plan for his life, but it is God’s plan.  Elisha was a wealthy farmer, and now God is calling him to leave that stability, predictability, and comfo

rt behind.  And since there is tension between Elisha’s “Plan A” and God’s “Plan B”, Elisha slaughters his oxen and cooks them over a fire made from his plow, to ensure that he would never look back.

The Point

You don't have to understand fully to obey immediately

At Home Suggestions

Talk with your teens about a time when God asked you to do something very different from what you were expecting.  How did you experience the tension between your “Plan A” and God’s “Plan B”?

Read James 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (NLT)

Ask: Has there ever been a time when you knew what you ought to do, but you didn’t do it?  When God has a plan for you, do you have to understand fully to obey immediately?  What are some things you ought to do now, even though you don’t understand where that path may take you in the future?

Explain that none of us need to understand everything to be able to obey God now.

Pray that your family would follow God’s call on their lives without looking back, even if you don’t understand everything.