Craig Clouston

Make No Plans

Make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words of wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Luke 21:14-15

Ken had been preoccupied for days. Ever since he'd been summoned to testify in a friend's wrongful-death hearing, he had worried over what the judge was going to ask him. "What if he asks about Jerry's car?" Ken asked his wife, Carol. "What if the judge asks if Jerry knew the brakes were wearing out?"

Carol understood her husband's quandary. A certified mechanic, Ken had advised Jerry to replace his front brake pads within the next few months. If the judge somehow knew about that it might affect Jerry's wife receiving compensation from the other driver's insurance company. She told Ken, "Don't worry about something that may or may not happen...it's a waste of time and energy. Just tell the judge the truth, Honey. Don't try to formulate what you'll say beforehand."

Ken realized Carol was right. The truth was that skid marks at the scene had shown Jerry’s brakes had worked.

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We must always tell the truth. However, preparing our response ahead of time diverts our mind from what we should be thinking about.

In Ken’s case he was called to testify…yet the judge never asked if Jerry’s car needed a brake job, only if the car was in good working order. Ken wasn’t responsible for the judge’s decision, only for answering honestly on the witness stand.

When we attempt to defend ourselves by means of rehearsing ahead of time we create two separate problems: We begin to imagine all types of scenarios which may or may not happen, causing undue stress, which causes the wasting of physical and emotional energy…and, we take away the ability for God’s Holy Spirit to guide us through difficult situations because we’re too worried if we’ll remember our storyline.

Today’s text assures us that God will guide us when the time comes to speak. Until that time remain calm in the knowledge that God never breaks His promises.

Prayer

“I place my life in Your hands, Lord. Help me to not worry about things in my future so
I can hear Your Guiding Voice. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”