The past few days I have been thinking about the old Yiddish saying, “
Man Plans and God Laughs.” I decided to explore this saying a little bit more and came across a message by Rabbi Steve Booth, B’nai Havurah, Denver, CO. He says the following: “Man Tracht un Got Lacht.... Man plans and God laughs. Essential Yiddish wisdom for life, for making plans, for organizational change, for these Yamim Noraim, these Days of Awe. We make plans.... stuff happens. Don’t forget that you are not in control, and that there is a One that is greater than the sum of all the parts. Invisible forces are at work.
He goes on to say, “Man tracht un Got lacht....
man plans and God laughs.... doesn’t just mean we’re not in control and God (who is) laughs, but rather,
we plan, as we should,
according to our values and goals,.... and
God smiles, as we, in our wrestlings with the unexpected, achieve so much more....”
He gives a personal example by referring to another Rabbi and him going sailing. Both were experienced sailors. They were enjoying a peaceful sail on the lake when the wind became turbulent. They lowered one of the sails to adjust for the wind. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, the mast broke and with sails attached fell into the lake. Their plans for a leisurely sail turned into
a struggle for life. While one tried to start the outboard motor the other began pulling in the mast and sails. Then the Rabbis saw that they were
headed toward the rocks!
To slow the boat down, Rabbi Booth dropped the mast and sails back into the water. His friend steadily tugged on the cord in an effort to start the motor. It started and Rabbi Booth dragged the mast and sail back into the boat. Their skill as sailors resulted in their safe arrival back at the dock.
He applies this to our everyday lives. We may plan for a leisurely safe journey through life but
“stuff happens.” Often, it can be quite unexpected.
Today, all around us, and with us, we face many challenges that could overwhelm us and
dash us against the rocks of despair. Work becomes slack, money gets tight, what we thought were safe financial plans fall apart, spouses have extramarital affairs, couples get divorced, single parents struggle to raise their children. Life seems overwhelming. Major adjustments must be made. We thrash about trying to find a new direction for our lives.
God’s laughter stops, His smile is gone. He agonizes with us. Our Yiddish proverb changes from “Man plans and God laughs”, to
“Man’s Plans fail and God weeps.” The scripture tells us very clearly that we should: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15 NKJV).
When we weep, God weeps with us. In John 11 Jesus is with His dear friends, Mary and Martha, who are crying near the graveside of their deceased brother. Even though Jesus knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, we read that,
“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35 NKJV)
You may say, “Well that was then and Jesus was right there with them. He saw and experienced their grief.”
Granted, but His promise was: "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will
give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:15-18 NKJV) Note that the KJV, ASV, and Living New Testament translate “Helper” as “Comforter.”
The
Holy Helper or Comforter knows our every heartache and presents our needs to our Loving Lord in a language beyond our comprehension: ”Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans8:26-28)
Then we have the great High Priest hearing our and our Holy Comforter’s prayers: “But He, because
He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to
save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law,
appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.(Hebrews 7:24-28 NKJV)
No matter what
happens to our plan, remember Our Lord has a plan for us and it is for our good. Even in divorce, single parenting, death of a loved one, loss of a home He weeps when we weep, laughs when we laugh and smiles as He watches us
work out His plan for our lives according to the
values He has placed in our hearts through the implantation of His Word.
HUGS, IN CHRIST’S AND MY LOVE,
Don E. Cunningham, Author Poet © 8-9-08 974
Labels: agonizes, appoints, broken hearts, Comforter, Divorce, groanings, Heartache, helper, High Priest, intercedes, laughs, perfect, Plans, single parent, smiles, weeps, work out
