I’m not flexible. I can’t touch my toes. I can’t do most of the stretches that people tell me I should do. I suspect I could make any yoga instructor change careers. Most of us are somewhat rigid: we have an idea of how we want to do things. Once we have a plan, we’d like that plan to come to life. We get stuck on a course of action. We stress when things change on us.
This year has required a lot of flexibility. Our plans have changed both regularly and unexpectedly. We’ve had to get used to doing things in different ways.
There are certainly things we must be rigid about. Malachi 3:6 says, “I the Lord, do not change.” Truth is truth. But our approaches do change. Paul spoke differently in the synagogue than he did the marketplace.
I imagine that Simon and Andrew had pretty solid plans for their day of fishing when something unexpected happened. A rabbi named Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I’ve always been impressed that they “immediately” “left their nets and followed him.” Becoming a disciple wasn’t on the schedule that day, but they had enough sense to realize that this itinerant preacher had better plans than they did.
If I’m not careful, my idea for how my day or decade should go might just keep me from responding to a better opportunity God has in front of me. Let’s cultivate a Biblically-anchored sense of flexibility—and be ready to respond to God’s call wherever it comes!