Even Humpty would agree. Not uncommonly our plans go haywire. We are blown off course. Maybe we are dumped by a prospective partner. We get a bad mark in an essay we thought we had managed triumphantly. We miss out on a promotion. We pick up an infection. We find the money has run out. Dry rot or a cracked cylinder-head makes us stop and ask for help. Prime Minister Macmillan had no monopoly of 'little local difficulties'. They are part of the substance of life.
And sometimes – to run the risk of dealing in platitudes – they are blessings in disguise. I am not entirely convinced that Humpty recognises this. There he is, leafing through his holiday brochures. Always the optimist. Whatever you do, don't mention the wall.
But do remember what happened to Paul. He and his team had a common sense, workable plan as we read in Acts 16. We find that they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from moving into Asia. They changed their plans and found themselves at the port of Troas. This was a town near the site of Troy. Not quite knowing what to do next, perhaps, they spent the night there. During the night Paul had a vision. He saw a Macedonian calling for help. Convinced that this was a nudge from God, they went and bought tickets for Macedonia. It was clearly an inspired move.
Philippi was a Roman colony and a leading city in that part of the world. They made friends with Lydia's household, were plagued by a noisy fortune-teller. They got thrown into jail, converted the jailer and stood on their rights as Roman citizens. They caused a sensation. Christianity had landed. It was a classic case of there being no such thing as bad publicity.
And so it came about. If we judge by outcomes, Paul had undoubtedly made a good decision. He changed his plans to good effect. We should be similarly ready for change. But we should remember that Paul was a key person with an overwhelming responsibility. We should beware of expecting God to give us stop-signs and visions of the same clarity. We, after all, are lesser creatures. We live our inconspicuous lives and allow habit or the spur of the moment to plot our course. We should certainly beware of thinking that we have special revelations of God's purpose for ourselves or anybody else. There is no person less likely to be taken seriously than one who claims to be a mouthpiece of Providence.
‘Are you listening, Humpty?’ I guess that wall is very far from his mind at this moment. Who knows what is round the corner?
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