Stewarding Well the Plan B Path

A Biblical Counseling Series #4

“It is not supposed to be this way.” Right now I see many believers walking difficult paths on my social media feed. A teenage Pastor’s daughter died in a random accident. A young girl is on her journey toward Heaven from a brain tumor. A family is dealing with the effects of a birth trauma that left their son physically disabled. He is now in his twenties but is non-verbal and unable to move independently. Some are dealing with the effects of an unwanted divorce or a long-term disability, job loss, or other difficulties. My family is no stranger to long-term trials, though I would not consider ours as hard as others. However, what the Lord has taught me may be a help to someone else on the Plan B path.

 What is the Plan B Path? It is the passage of Hebrews 11:35b-40 describing those who were not spared tremendous suffering in this life. Up to this point in Hebrews 11, the Scripture proclaims the faith of Bible characters as God intervened with amazing miracles. The last five verses do no such thing. God enabled them to endure the suffering while they looked forward to “a better resurrection.”

The life and death of Jesus emphasizes the fact that Biblical Christianity is not a prosperity Gospel. Jesus was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

The very people who claimed to love God should have recognized Jesus as God. He was rejected, tortured, mocked, and murdered. The Kingdom Jesus gained upon His resurrection resounded with eternal implications, but not the earthly kingdom that the religious Jews were awaiting. A prosperity Gospel is a false religion. It claims that a righteous life deserves no trials, no financial difficulties, no health problems, and no struggles.

The friends of Job spent the entire book trying to convince Job that if only he had been upright, he would not be experiencing such tremendous suffering. Yet, the very reason Job suffered was because he was righteous. What God allowed Job to endure was not for punishment, but it was meant to help Job know God in a much deeper way, while also teaching his friends about a God they did not know or understand.

Suffering has a way of turning our hearts from the temporal to the eternal. It can make us bitter or it teaches us to know God in a way that an easy life can not. The Plan B life, stewarded well may reap far more eternal rewards than the “life that should have been.” What are the core principles in stewarding the Plan B life?

• Rest in God’s sovereignty and love. He sees; He hears; He cares; He knows. Much suffering can be relieved by simply letting God use the trial as He sees fit, resting in His control of the situation.

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  Psalm 40:1-2

• Renew your mind with the promises of God. God promises to never leave or forsake His own. He promises grace and strength for every weakness. He promises that everything in this world has a timetable. Suffering will not last forever.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Hebrews 11:5-6

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

• Repeat what God teaches you about Himself in the trial to others. The way we learn to know God in trials will affect the way we minister to others. It gives us empathy and grace. It makes us speak of God as if we know Him intimately. It strengthens others when they walk through the fire. It draws the lost to the Savior who shines through us in the darkest places.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:3

• Reach out for prayer and tangible help. Many people will not know how to help unless you specifically ask. And asking for prayer is vital for us in this life. Don’t be ashamed to ask!

What would you add to this list? What has God taught you through suffering? I would love to hear what God has taught you in your Plan B Path!

Blessings, my friends!