Bend Or Break?

“BLESSED ARE THE FLEXIBLE, for they shall bend and not be broken.” I don’t remember where or when I first read or heard this saying, but I quote it regularly to myself. Evidently I also frequently quote it to others—a friend even gifted me with a framed calligraphy version. My maxim sat above my kitchen sink for years until it was too stained from soap suds and food scraps to display.

I know it’s not a Bible verse, but this truism has certainly helped me get a grip when my plans suddenly change. As I write this devotion, I’m traveling home from a speaking event that I didn’t have on my calendar until the night before I flew across the country. Don’t get the impression that I’m naturally flexible. Nothing could be further from the truth. I make my plans, and I prefer not to change them. I keep a calendar and a to-do list. I methodically schedule my days and my weeks. But this Scripture verse impacts me more than either my plans or my favorite saying: “‘I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I can’t adequately convey the power God’s Word has had on me. This one verse enabled me to abruptly leave the security of a home, extended family, and friends to obey God’s clear call to move our young family to a faraway mission field—and then to suddenly move again to another new place two years later, when my life and the life of the child in my womb were both in jeopardy. These were situations I certainly never signed up for!

The Lord doesn’t always let us in on His plans ahead of time, but it’s enough that He knows them. He loves us and creates plans for our welfare and not calamity. His plans give me a future and a hope. In other words, God’s plans trump mine.

Most of us know this verse, but it’s so hard to apply it and be flexible when plans change unexpectedly: Your car won’t start. The game is rained out. A job is terminated. You woke up with the flu. The rumor is true. The lab report is positive. Most of us had our lives temporarily change course when our communities shut down due to COVID-19. Our usual activities came to an abrupt stop, our finances may have been impacted, and our plans needed to be altered, leaving us with loose ends and unsure about the future.

We head in one direction but all too often are suddenly forced to stop and head in another. It’s challenging, even seemingly impossible, to change course and be flexible. There is, however, a promised blessing when we bend and flex and trade our plans for the Lord’s. The Jeremiah passage continues, “‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:12-14).

Finding the Lord is far better than checking off our lists and seeing our plans through until the end. His plans, which stretch our faith, are like a magnet drawing us to our Father God. When I can’t handle life on my own, I fall on my knees before the Lord in desperation. And as a result, an amazing transformation begins: The God of the Bible becomes my God, and my love for Him and dependence on Him increase as I trust His plans.

I could never have envisioned the result of following God’s plans. My journey to a new land led to a lifelong family ministry with an eternal impact. And clinging to the Lord for my life and the life of my child, against all odds, led to the miraculous birth of our youngest son, Timmy (known outside our family as Tim)—a dramatic story God continues to use for His glory.

What plan or expectation for your life should you give to the Lord in exchange for His plan? Picture yourself laying your plan at His feet. Seek Him with all your heart, and trust what He has planned for you.

REFLECTION

Memorize the “flexible” saying if that’s helpful for you. Better still, memorize Jeremiah 29:11-14. Keep it in your mind’s file so that when plans change, you can “bend and not be broken.”