01/01/2024
By Pastor Vinnie Cappetta
"Your Plans and God’s Providence"
In '99, my wife and I set out on a church-planting journey in Southern New Hampshire. With dear friends, we crafted detailed plans, fueled by faith, and put our house on the market. Yet, a sudden storm hit as friends withdrew, and the intended denomination pulled support.
Surrounded by packing boxes, bidding farewell to our old home, we faced an unknown future.
Have you ever found yourself at such crossroads, where well-laid plans took an unforeseen turn?
Remarkably, our lives unfolded differently than we had expected. Instead of Southern NH, God orchestrated a move to MetroWest Boston. There, we played a pivotal role in establishing a different church, working alongside another pastor. Seven years of service unfolded in ways we never anticipated.
This chapter of our lives echoes Sunday's scripture, vividly illustrating life's unpredictability – a reminder not to boast in plans but to humbly acknowledge Jesus, our divine scriptwriter. Life, fleeting as a brief dance of mist, calls us to embrace the humility of saying, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
Reflecting, we navigate the delicate balance between aspirations and God's sovereign plan. How can our community trust His leading, letting go of arrogance, and embrace the Holy Spirit’s adventure, saying, "Lord, your will be done"?
Here's the scripture from Sunday’s sermon:
"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, boasting in arrogance is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
James 4:13-17 ESV
Let this word of Christ dwell in you richly.
While your plans hold significance, recognize their subservience to God's providence.
