“Plan A” Living
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Isaiah 30:21
To overcome anxiety, we need to acquire a singleness of vision and purpose. The question is whether we are going to live our way or God’s way. Let’s call God’s way “Plan A,” which we accept by faith, and humanity’s way “Plan B,” which is a natural product of human reason and intuition. There are times when God’s ways don’t make sense to us because we don’t have the big picture. Because of our limited human perspective we can never know if we are basing our decisions on all the facts, and we can’t predict what the consequences of our actions will be. That is why God says His ways are not our ways (see Isaiah 55:8).
When we come to Christ, our old ways of thinking and living are still programmed into our minds. If we don’t know God’s ways, we will continue to live the way we always have. Now that we have the mind of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:16), we can learn God’s ways. However, until we are fully committed to living according to what God says is true, we will waffle between Plan A and Plan B.
When we commit ourselves to live according to God’s way (Plan A), it decreases our tendency to live as we always have (Plan B). When we mix our ways with God’s ways, it decreases our commitment to Plan A. That is what the Pharisees were doing by observing their man-made traditions (Plan B), and as a result they set aside the commandments of God (Plan A). Such waffling creates its own anxieties for us as Christians because we are double-minded.
The unbeliever can experience less anxiety than an immature or uncommitted Christian who straddles the fence in order to have the “best” of both worlds. The natural person creates his or her own rationalistic worldview and explanation of reality and can live anxiety-free in this world for a time. The natural person has become his or her own god. However, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). We can’t choose Plan B just because it seems less worrisome in the present. Satan will always tempt us with an alternative to Plan A that may seem right to the non-discerning, but it leads to certain destruction.
To illustrate this principle, consider marriage. God’s Plan A for marriage is a life-long monogamous relationship between a man and a woman, for better or for worse, until death separates them. We should never entertain thoughts contrary to that commitment, because that will be the temptation that leads to divorce. Thinking what it would be like to be married to someone else is pure fantasy, which will appear more attractive than the reality we have.
What would happen if a young couple got married with the understanding that they could always get a divorce if the relationship didn’t work out? They will probably get divorced, because commitment is what makes the marriage relationship unique. If a wife establishes her own career because she believes the marriage won’t last, she is making preparations for Plan B. If a husband is more committed to his job than his marriage, he is choosing Plan B. Your emotional stability and lifestyle will reveal which plan you have chosen.
questions to consider:
What two limitations do we have when charting our own course of action?
Why do believers still waffle between trying to follow their ways and God’s ways after they receive new life in Christ?
Why does the natural person often experience less anxiety than an immature or uncommitted Christian who is “straddling the fence”?
Where do you experience the most tension between your old ways and God’s ways?
Why is it foolish to make your own provisions in case Plan A doesn’t work? Isn’t that doubting God?
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.