What's Your Jordan?

This week we had week 2 of our Plan B bible study. We covered two chapters; one dealing with "The Illusion of Control" and the other dealing with "Your Jordan". I love this book more and more as I read it and I love these girls more and more as we discuss it and how it relates to our lives. I'll talk about the Illusion of Control first.

The Illusion of Control - Chapter 3

Pete had a really awesome quote in the book that said "the greatest of all illusions is the illusion of control". Whether we realize it or not, we are all kind of controlling. Some people are more controlling of other people and others are more controlling of themselves. I think I fall in that last category. I don't try to control other people because I learned a long time ago that the more you try to do that, the more resistance you get from that person and it will all fall apart if you keep trying. So my issue is that I try to control the outcomes of my life, knowing full well that God already has a plan in motion and He knows how it will all turn out. However, I try to control it anyway.

"I like control. I like to know where God is going, exactly what he is doing, the exact route of how we are getting there, and exactly when we will arrive." Let's be honest, how awesome would it be if we knew all that information? But let's face it, we don't and never will. God will always surprise us. The more we try to control everything, the more stressed out we're going to get, the more we're going to take that stress out on our friends, family, spouses, children, co-workers, etc. This exhausting effort that is control, has the potential to ruin our lives....if we let it. The key is to not let it. The key is to surrender control to the only being that can control our lives and trust that His plan is the best one.

"You may think you're losing control, but the truth is, you never had control in the first place. The only thing you do control is how you respond to your disappointments and your unexpected obstacles." We will literally wear ourselves out trying to control the outcomes of our lives or trying to control other people to conform them to what you want them to be instead of who they are. We all need to get to a place where we can sit back and say "Not my will God, but yours be done."

Your Jordan - Chapter 4

In order for people not reading this book to understand this part, I need to dive into the scripture Pete refers to in this chapter. So we got our homeboy Moses who led the Israelites out of bondage and now they're strolling around trying to find the Promise Land. Well they finally find it, but all these peeps are all scared now and are afraid God won't give them what they promised. Finally, their great and fearless leader, Moses, dies (let's face it, the guy was like 120 years old...he was tired). So who takes his place? Joshua. Long story short, J-man has a convo with God and God tells him to take 12 of the dudes he's with and carry the Ark of the Lord into the Jordan River and as soon as it touches the river, the river will stop flowing and stand up so that the people can get across the river and into the Promise Land. Apparently God was so impressed with himself after the whole Red Sea thing that He felt the need to do it again ;) Gotta love him.



Crossing a river doesn't sound so hard to us, but apparently back in the day, the Jordan River was very deep, even at the banks, and the flowing of the water at that time of year was incredibly fast, so yeah these dudes could have easily gotten washed away. The Jordan was these people's scary place. It was the thing they were afraid to do because they were hesitant to trust God. What is your Jordan? Where in your life are you afraid to step into the water and trust that God will take care of you?

Good quotes from Pete throughout Chapter 4:

• "You have to take the first step. You will not see God's power or experience His faithfulness until you get your feet wet."
• "God is teaching his people 'I have so much power, and I want to manifest it in your life. But if you want to see my power, you have to take the risk. You have to take the step. You have to take the spiritual risk of trusting me first."
• "Hate and bitterness are both poisons to the redemptive work God wants to do in and through our lives. And the only way I know to drain the poison is through forgiveness."
• "He's learned the truth that makes all the difference: constant contact with the Creator is essential for transformation living. If you want faith enough to live the life God's called you to live, time with God is simply a must. And that applies double when you're facing a Plan B situation."
• "Some people can trust God in the midst of difficulties, and others can't. I don't really believe that. I think that's a cop-out and, for most of us, nothing more than an excuse."
• "I'm learning more and more that if I want God's help in my life, I need to be ready for what He's going to do. I have to be willing to wait for His signal. And when He says go, I'd better start paddling."

Next week is Chapter 5, entitled "Paralyzed" and Chapter 6, entitled "Whiplash". Ashley Matherson has already finished the entire book and she says that I will absolutely love Chapter 6. So far I'm pretty much in love with every Chapter in this book so we'll see how it goes :)