When Life Doesn’t Follow the Script

Read The Daily:
“In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” – John 16:16

You ever have a script for your life? You know—by 30, I’ll have this job. By 35, I’ll be here. By 40, I’ll have my life completely figured out. And then life looks at your script and laughs. The disciples had a script for Jesus, too. They expected a conquering King, not a suffering servant. They wanted a throne, not a cross. So when Jesus started talking about leaving, their frustration shot through the roof.

That’s how frustration works—it grows when life doesn’t follow our plans. We want things to go a certain way, and when they don’t, we panic. We wrestle with God, questioning His timing, His methods, and honestly, sometimes even His love. But what if our disappointment is actually setting us up for something better? What if Jesus was trying to show the disciples (and us) that when life doesn’t go our way, it doesn’t mean God isn’t still in control?

What if Jesus was trying to show us that when life doesn’t go our way, it doesn’t mean God isn’t still in control?

I had this moment when I was planning Easter at C3 in April with our Thursday Team. I laid out the whole thing—what I thought was an absolute best Easter ever. And I expected people to get hyped, maybe even give me a slow clap lol. Instead? Blank stares. Someone leaving to measure a table. Someone else was having a side conversation and then another guy right in the middle of it asked if I could help me move something. No applause. No excitement. Just… nothing. And for a second, I felt the frustration rise. But then I had to ask myself— why am I really frustrated?  It’s because I had a script and plan for how the day was going to go and even people’s responses.  And guess what?  When something or someone doesn’t follow my script, I get frustrated.

Today, think about this: What script have you written for your life? What happens when life goes off-script? Can you trust that God’s plan is bigger than your frustration?

Prayer for the Day

God what are you  showing me?  What am I going to do about it?
God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?
Make sure you complete the reading or comment today.

Read The New Testament In A Year

4 x 6 Plan | Read: Mark 3:1-12 & 1 Corinthians 9:1-12

Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him. He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus. Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him. They came from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from east of the Jordan River, and even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide, and vast numbers of people came to see him. Jesus instructed his disciples to have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him. He had healed many people that day, so all the sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him. And whenever those possessed by evil spirits caught sight of him, the spirits would throw them to the ground in front of him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.  Mark 3:1-12

Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle. This is my answer to those who question my authority. Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? Don’t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves? What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest. Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ.  1 Corinthians 9:1-14

Read More – Bible Project Overviews: Mark, 1 Corinthians