Lists are important. So important that I’m not sure we could function without them. I know I couldn’t. Lists help us stay organized by keeping a record of what has happened in the past and to make sure that what we need to do in the future gets done. Our to-do-lists keep us on track and our bucket lists keep our hopes alive.
I wonder if people in the Bible had a to-do-list. Consider Saul: “Meet with Jesus on road to Damascus.” Or Peter: “Walk on water during storm. Find snorkel.” And don’t forget Sarah: “Shop for baby clothes. Finally!” If Moses had a list then being rescued from the Nile River had to be at the top. Being saved by Pharaoh’s daughter, raised in the palace and trained in the best schools of Egypt were just added bonuses from God. His bucket list might have included “identify with and try to help the Israelites in their struggle as slaves in Egypt.” We know that didn’t work so well—Moses resorts to murder and even becomes an outcast among his own people. And, “I’m sure spending 40 years in the desert as a sheepherder” wasn’t on either of Moses’ lists. Because God often uses what happens in our lives to teach us lessons we need to learn, God may have used this forced “time out” on the backside of the desert to remind Moses that however good his intentions were, he wasn’t the one in charge.
After forty years, God suddenly stepped back into Moses’ life—like a burning bush, suddenly—and told him to return to Egypt. It’s time to deliver His people but this time God would be in charge. And what does Moses do? He argues with God. I argue with God, but I know I wouldn’t put it in writing for the whole world to read. But even Moses’ stubborn responses are there for us to ponder. There is a lot of “not me, I can’t,” and “send someone else” in this part of the story until we finally find Moses surrendering his will. I wonder if Moses saw the irony in what was happening and was aware of all of the “behind-the-scenes” orchestrating that had been done on his behalf: being protected from certain death as a baby, his earlier training, and even his time in the desert.
Are we aware of what God has done in our lives to bring us to where we are today? Perhaps it would be a helpful exercise to make yet another list, a list of how God has been working in our lives by guiding, protecting and providing for us. Then at the bottom of that list, putting the lessons we have learned about God and ourselves. There is a master plan. Our lives are not made up of random acts that simply collide around us to shape us into who we are. We can make lists, but remember that God has one already made for us. And what’s the difference? His is better.
In Jeremiah 29:11-13 we read about plans, the to-do-list, that God has for each of us. We’re reminded that these plans are for good and not for evil and they will give us a future and a hope. We have God’s promise that when we search for Him with all our heart, we will find Him and He will hear our prayers. It’s okay to make lists. Just do it in pencil and have a big eraser. Make sure your to-do-lists and even your bucket lists match God’s plan for you.