Earlier this summer, my family and I got a chance
to go to New York for the very first time and,
just like Frank Sinatra, I love New York in June.
It was amazing.
It's inspiring.
It's things you'd never imagine.
So, my kids, they loved the trip but,
as a dad in a family of five, that means stress for me.
So, I plan out my trip and I did the best that we could
and we get there and that's when it just starts to load.
Mike Tyson famously said about boxing,
"Everybody's got a plan until you get punched in the mouth,"
and that's kind of how I felt.
I got there and I'm thinking, "Why is LaGuardia so small?
And then I had to figure out how to buy Metro tickets.
Do we ride the bus and then we ride the subway?
I'm trying to figure out why is that guy mistaking
the rest room with the corner of the subway,
like, what is happening?
How do I get my family fed without
taking out a home equity loan?
Like, how does this all happen?
And then I look at my kids.
They're smiling.
They're having a great time.
All they wanted to do, because they knew Dad had a plan,
was go to Nathan's and eat a hot dog and
go to the top of the Empire State Building.
On my end, though, all this stress starts to pile up.
The only thing they had a complaint about,
the only time they ever pushed back or
they wanted the itinerary to change, is when I would announce
which subway we were gonna take to our next spot.
They would say, "Dad, do we have to take the subway?"
And I would say, "Yes,
because A) I already bought the tickets
and B) I already bought the tickets."
But, I wonder, did you ever do that with God? Like,
you take a look at your life and the plan
and the itinerary that God has for you and you wonder,
"God, do I have to take the subway?"
Like, do I have to go through this dark place?
Do I have to suffer?
Do I have to be sick, God?
Do I have to struggle with cancer?
Do I have to suffer loss?
Do I have to fight this addiction?
God, why do I have to do that?
If it was up to me, God, I'd just want to take the top.
God tells us in His Word that you might not know
the plan that you have but I think stress goes away
when you know that someone is taking care of you,
you're in someone's hands with that plan.
And this is what God says in a favorite verse
for probably many of you, Jeremiah 29,
I don't know your life, but I know New York.
In order to get to the amazing places,
you have to take the subway.
You have to go into that dark place,
but I know when you come up, the sun is out and
you see something you've never seen before.
You see the 9/11 Memorial.
You see Rockefeller Center.
You see Central Park.
You see these beautiful things that you never imagined
when you're in this dark place.
Maybe, on the other side of a job layoff is
a brand new job that you love.
Maybe, on the other side of sickness,
you get to see an appreciation for your family.
Maybe, when you go through the darkness
of confessing your sins,
you get to see the Son.
S-O-N,
and you can see that God has a hope for you
and God has a future.
Let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We are overwhelmed sometimes when we go to dark places.
We wonder why we have to go there and, if it was up to us,
everything would be rainbows and sun.
But, it's in these dark places that
we are often closest to you.
We pray that, in these times, we cling to the plan
you've given us, a plan that says that we confess all
the things we've done wrong to you and
you bring us close through your Son.
We ask this in his name, Amen.
Thanks to a very generous couple,
we have had a donation up to $2,500 of a matching
dollar for dollar gift but there is only one day left
to try and reach people with the timeless truths
of God's Word all around the world,
so if you would like your gift to be worth twice as much,
please click on the link in this post
and have it matched.
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