“Part of expecting God to do something is learning that, whatever you do, he will probably bring the opportunities and the fruit indirectly. He delights to work in ways that prevent us from claiming the glory for what he has done. That frees us up to go forth with confidence, even if our plans are imperfect.”

“Show up. Do something. See what God does.”

Those were the words of counsel shared recently by a missions leader who has spent much time in closed countries. Of course, he couched these words in a context of prayer and planning and of a basic missiological framework. His point to his hearers: don’t overplan; rather, act in faith.

Our strategies and plans usually don’t work out the way we expected. But the Lord seems to delight to reward those who humbly expect to see him work. I recall Dr. Richard Ganz, at a conference many years ago, say that people used to wonder why amazing ministry opportunities seemed to “find” him. If you’ve ever read one of Rich’s books or heard him speak, you know that he is a walking treasure trove of such stories. He said that, initially, he brushed off such comments because he was convinced that everyone had such opportunities. Over time, he began to see that his initial assumption was not true. Eventually, he concluded that the reason he had so many exciting encounters was that he simply expected God to work. God seems to bless us with fresh opportunities when we live expectantly.

Part of expecting God to do something is learning that, whatever you do, he will probably bring the opportunities and the fruit indirectly. He delights to work in ways that prevent us from claiming the glory for what he has done. That frees us up to go forth with confidence, even if our plans are imperfect. We can show up, do something, and see what God does, all without worrying about whether our goals or expectations were met.

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