God Might Surprise You!
This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
Psalm 118:23 (KJV)
Homo Faber is the name of an influential Swiss novel written by Max Frisch in 1957. The phrase "homo faber" is Latin and means skillful human, and is primarily used in philosophical circles to express the idea that human beings are makers. We create tools, build structures, design objects, and we make plans.
All of us make plans. Whether it's planning a vacation, a wedding, the next phase of our career, or what we intend to eat as we bing our new favorite show on Netflix, we all regularly plan. We can't help but plan. It's what makes us human. We are homo faber.
I have no doubt that you are planning something. I just wonder what it is. And more importantly, I wonder how you think your plans are going to turn out. This is where many of us falter. Especially in challenging times, we wonder if planning is even worth it, given the tendency of life to interfere with our aims. As the poet put it, "the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray."
Our planning tends to fall into four categories:
1. The Status Quo Plan
In this plan, we assume that everything in our lives will remain the same. Like the movie “Groundhog Day,” we expect that every day will pretty much be the same. We have grown accustomed to the rhythm and routine of our lives, and success is to be found in not rocking the boat. As the old gospel song says, "it was good enough for my momma, it's good enough for me."
2. The Optimistic Plan
In this plan, we assume that things will be considerably better than what they are now. This is the official American creed. "Look up!” "Be Positive!" "Expect The Best!" We expect the stock market to go up, taxes to go down, everyone who graduates from college to get a job, and everyone who retires to move to Las Vegas, Arizona or Texas and live in a big house.
3. The Pessimistic Plan
In this plan, we assume that things will be considerably worse than they are now. Planners of this persuasion are always looking for the other shoe to drop. They see an insult in every compliment, a betrayal in every smile, and a conspiracy in every event. During wedding ceremonies, they calculate the probability of divorce based on how the bride walks down the aisle.
4. The Disaster Plan
In this plan, we assume that the apocalypse is imminent, so it's best not to make plans at all. Since the world is going to end any second, why plan at all?
Let me add another category for your consideration. Let's call it The Transformative Plan! In this plan, God does what God does best: God intervenes and performs an action that you could have never imagined but is precisely what you needed and didn't even know you wanted.
Whatever you are planning, leave room for God's plan, He might surprise you.