God on the Spot – Part 2:The Plan

January 11, 2019 by  
Filed under Faith, Faith Articles

By Dianne E. Butts   

A long-married husband sits at the bedside of his beloved wife. He loves her more now than when he married her. Yet illness is eating her body. He prays God will heal her, but she dies anyway.

Parents hear the doorbell in the middle of the night. They peer out the window and see two police officers standing on the front porch. Fear grips their hearts. They open the door and hear, “Ma’am. Sir. We’re sorry to inform you there’s been an accident. Your son…”

It wasn’t always like this. This isn’t the way God created this world and it wasn’t His plan for it. When God created the world it was perfect. No death. No illness. No sin.

“Eat all you want from the Tree of Life,” He said. Live forever.

But then that moment of disobedience in the garden of God…and everything changed.

Now what? In the beginning, God told them do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When you do, you will die, He said (Genesis 2:16-17).

They ate of it. But did they die? They were still up walking around, so it appears the Word of God did not come true. But it did, for they died in a different way: they died spiritually. Physical death followed later. This was not God’s plan for them or us, but this was the new reality.

What were Adam and Eve to do now? How could they fix what they had done? What could they do to reverse the consequences? Nothing. They were completely powerless, as are we. If they, and we, were to be redeemed from this new situation, it would have to be all God’s doing.

But what could God possibly do? He couldn’t go back on His Word: If you eat of it, you will die.

So God made a plan. It didn’t take Him long to form His plan and it took Him very little time to announce it. It was only a few verses later, in Genesis 3:15, when He first announced The Plan: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,” He said to the serpent, “and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel.” This is the first prophecy of the coming, future Savior.

The Plan: After everything changed in the garden—when sin entered in and brought sickness and death— God put Himself on the spot to redeem us from that. God put Himself on the spot to provide the Messiah.

From here forward, everything in human history is about bringing this promise to pass. This is the focus of the Old Testament records. And we see it fulfilled in the beginning of the New Testament.

Furthermore, God’s plan would continue to make known His love and His mercy and grace and long-suffering and power. Through His plan He would make Himself known.

We can rest in security in our faith because we are not on the spot to carry out God’s plan. He alone is responsible for it. And because we know He is trustworthy to do it and nothing can thwart His plan, we can live boldly in our faith and share it in confidence.

If planning to send a Savior wasn’t a big enough spot for God to put Himself in, He next promised to send Messiah through one man, one family.

Next month—March: “God on the Spot – Part 3”: The Promise: God puts Himself on the spot to bring the Messiah through the bloodline of elderly, childless Abram and Sarai.

© 2010 Dianne E. Butts

Because she enjoys studying God’s Word in depth and then sharing what she learns with others, Dianne’s motto is “gathering manna and giving it out.” She has written for over 50 Christian print magazines and fifteen books including Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Best Stories of Faith (2008) and God Encounters: Stories of His Involvement in Life’s Greatest Moments (Howard Books, 2009). Her work has appeared in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. The trio lives in Colorado. www.DianneEButts.com  www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com

About Dianne Butts

Dianne has written for over 50 Christian print magazines and contributed to nineteen books. She is the author of Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy. Her work has been published in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DeliverMeBook.com www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com www.DianneEButts.com
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Comments

2 Responses to “God on the Spot – Part 2:The Plan”
  1. Margi Wilson says:

    That’s why people shouldn’t blame God and shake their fists in angry when a loved one dies or something bad happens. God is still God no matter your circumstances…..

  2. Ava Betz says:

    Good, clear writing. Thoughtful interpretation. Looking forward to the next installment.

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