Lord Willing

I've heard many people use the phrase "Lord Willing" in my life, but had never really thought about the implication of this type of attitude until recently.

Recently, on our church mission trip to Acuña, Mexico, we discussed this type of mindset. It was tied in with the book of James, and a discussion on plans and planning. How much should we as Christians plan for the future, and how much should we leave in God's hands? That was the gist of the conversation.

That conversation brought to my mind the phrase, "Lord Willing." Really, this type of attitude is a healthy one for the Christian to adopt. Rather than always focusing on our own plans and ambitions, we could insert the caveat "Lord Willing" to acknowledge that despite what we may plan or decide to do, it will be only if God wills it.

For my part, while not outright using that phrasing, I have begun to insert a request for God's will to be done with my prayers. It is really kind of a difficult thing to get used to, but ultimately the most spiritually beneficial way to go through our days.

The mission trip presented me with my first opportunity to lead a group of diverse people into a foreign country to build houses. While my responsibility was shared with a few others, I was technically the "trip leader."

It was a role I had accepted reluctantly (whether I said it or not) and which I felt under qualified  for from the get go. Before the trip I had a chance to speak about my previous mission experiences, and honestly felt under qualified in that regard too.

You see, Juliet is really the "missionary" of the family. Her whole adult life was mission work through the organization Manos Juntas. In fact, I met her on a trip to Mexico through this organization as she was the translator for our group that week.

For this reason, when the guy who usually heads up theses trips asked me to lead, I nearly told him he needed to defer to her.

Still, I think there was a plan in all of this, and God wanted to stretch me a bit in terms mod reliance on Him.

Much of the planning was still coordinated between the two of us. He had the experience of this particular style of trip through our church, and was a great resource for helping with the logistics of the trip. He was even planning on attending and co-leading with me originally.

But, as God likes to do, He threw me a curve ball and a day or two before the trip, my co-leading buddy had to back out for family reasons, and I ended up not being able to lean on him for help. I readied myself to coordinate a group of 36 people from 3 different churches with ages ranging from 11 to 75. Some had done more of these trips than me. Many were older than me. Some were probably better qualified, but God allowed me to be stretched and to be exposed to this type of leadership to which I'm not too accustomed.

Now, the Lord Willing type of attitude was something that became a reality very quickly because of this.

Truth be told, I over planned the trip and nearly drove myself crazy trying to adjust times and schedules for activities beyond the building of the houses that I wanted us to accomplish. But, each time I would get a plan set in stone, it would suddenly fall apart. Initially, instead of taking the hint and just letting God control it, I would begin reformulating the next plan to replace the one that failed.

It was actually 3 days into the trip before I finally realized I wasn't going to be in control of the group in terms of these plans. I prayed that God would allow time for the activities we wanted to do, and that we would still finish the houses on time, and sat back ready and willing.

And, true to form, God let the timing of our final two days in Mexico work in a way that included everything we wanted to do, and got the houses done on time. And that is with one house having many challenges to the build.

So, though I never questioned that God was leading the trip, and that I was simply an instrument He was using, I learned that the "Lord willing" attitude really is the best way. When I let go of my desires and plans, and simply trusted God to provide for the group, everything fell in place perfectly. The stress dissolved, and the blessings began flowing.

Our week involved many delays, building issues and other challenges, but God was with our group the whole time. We took 36 people and built two homes for families in need of them. We managed to have 36 people share a living space for 4 days with no conflicts arising. And, I suppose even as I type this and say that "We managed," I really mean "God managed." God managed our group, and simply let me call them to action when needed. I was a minor instrument used for a greater purpose.

And, in the midst of trying to learn how to confidently lead a group of people, God totally took over, and made it unnecessary to stress out and worry over the "How" of it. Instead, a spirit of cooperation fell upon the group, and the leadership aspect fell into place by God's grace and provision.

One other bonus is that after heading up this trip, I can't wait for the next one. Though, I started out thinking Juliet was the real missionary, God showed me that a calling to the mission field would not be out of the question at some point in my walk. I've got about 10 things I want to be called to do, and so far God has allowed me a portion of time for each. Where I will end up ultimately to be used, I don't know. But, I can say that "Lord Willing," I'll be ready and able when my calling comes.