Doors may open, and doors may close, and some project we may have thought was God’s ultimate purpose for our lives may suddenly change and become just a waypoint on our future path. All of this requires flexibility. The book of Acts is filled with stories of Paul’s flexibility and the changes he had to go through while following God’s plan for him. Acts 19:1 says:
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
The chapter goes on to explain what happened next, but my thoughts were intrigued by that simple phrase “there he found some disciples.” We never know what we are going to find next on our path. Paul didn’t know who he would meet in Ephesus, but he ended up preaching there for three months. And so much more happened in Ephesus later, that Paul even wrote the entire letter to the Ephesians that is in our Bible today. So much flexibility was required in Paul’s missionary journeys, yet he willingly went wherever he felt led, not knowing what or who he would find.
This reminds me of sight reading music, when you turn the page to find music in a totally different key. Whether classical or contemporary, sometimes the most exciting musical moments happen when there are sudden changes, either in key or rhythm or instruments used. Do we see such changes in life as exciting, or terrifying? If we have a mindset of being flexible, changes and variations and unknown futures can be a good thing. We need to stop planning our whole lives out for ourselves, and wait and see what God has in store for us.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15