By: Dr. Jimmy Young
Take a look at Psalm 33:10:
"The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples."
The last half of this verse points out that God “frustrates the plans of the peoples,” going on to explain in the next sentence that “the counsel of the Lord stands forever.” One can clearly see that our plans often come to naught, while His are unbudgeable. Verse 10 seems to be aimed at those who oppose Him, but He also frustrates the plans of His friends. And I, for one, am glad He does.
Some of you may recall that, in 1991/1992, the fledgling congregation of GEC voted 98% to purchase Woodland Hills Conference Center (a once thriving country club and golf course). To not bore you with details, our efforts failed and the deal blew up, much to the chagrin of our young, small congregation. However, 20 years later, we all look back on that as a disastrous decision on our parts, a disaster avoided, because God, in His kindness, “frustrated” our plans.
It is often His way to refuse to give us what would eventually be bad for us. But at the time of the refusal, we find ourselves disappointed and bewildered. Whenever that happens to me, I recall Woodland Hills, and eventually, am able to thank Him for frustrating me, because if He isn’t in it, I don’t want it.
