God had a plan

God had a plan. From the foundation From the beginning When in his palms He formed a man. And that man Would stand in his image, Every part of him Perfectly fitted. And from the very first minute, He was called good. God called him good, And yet he understood, What would happen tomorrow Wasn't going to be good. He had created his bride And gave her a ring, But he already knew What tomorrow would bring. His plan was teeming With the intricate works Of a creative King. He already knew the cold winter He had to take us through Before we hit spring. He knew the choice she would make, The fruit she would take, That bond that sin would break, He knew the separation That would make his heart ache – The man who would die For the whole world's sake, The church that would rise up And cause evil to shake. Beloved make no mistake, He knew all this, And yet he thought she was great. He probably even smiled, Because at least for a little while, Man was yet to have to be Reconciled to the creator, And sin had yet to defile, The beautiful creature to whom He found it all worthwhile. And when that all came to pass, When man began to stumble Don't for a minute think That God's plan crumbled, Because from the moment He even thought of man, He had a plan. Not the kind of plan that You and I make for vacation – God wanted conversation, And knew he had to rid us Of the infection That gave us isolation, And all that hindered our restoration. He knew he'd take The man in his hands Through the darkest night, Through a war that He knew He had to fight, The Son he would have to sacrifice. When he made his plan, It wasn't bound by perfection, It was based in affection. When God planned, He dreamed of love – The same love that man Had become deprived of, The kind of love that was lifelong, For the one thing he wanted all along. He came for our heart, The part of man that began To beat from the start, With the thud thud through every part, Of our anatomy And yet feels every emotion – He came for heart The same heart He had in the beginning. But he gave men this voice – He wanted them to have a choice, The option to rejoice, or not And from the choice yes On the ballot of salvation Would come love He couldn't have achieved By any motion to coerce, The kind of love that the devil could not reverse, Because all the while He teaches us how to love Perfectly, enormously, wonderfully - So this plan – This story He is writing, As he writes – As the words etched in His heart hit paper, Scriptures you hold Are love letters to your soul, From the God who wants to make you whole, To a heart He chose not to control, He had planned His reply, To win back the heart of His bride, With a cross on which He chose to die, And let her decide, To love Him for all her life. So from the beginning God was planning And you have a piece in this great story, That ends with an inheritance To all the King’s glory. But I won't lie – The middle is speckled with pain, Sure, sin has a habit of creating these chains, That sprain and strain and stain and wane. We're all coming from a place Where sin had domain. Yes, there was a winter to be had, A night to suffer to which He'd be glad, If He could know that pain wasn't to last, And that all of the struggle Would be a thing of the past. But the relationship forged In the deepest of measures, Would lead to a blessing With the greatest of pleasures. But like a child who reads the last pages first, To make sure the characters Make it through the very worst, In the end of God's plan We all will be reimbursed. The final point I want to make to you, Is that there is nothing you could ever do, That could cause God's plan to fall through, No matter how we trip and fall, The mistakes we regret Neither big nor small, Could ever stall The plan in store God has for us all. Because from the beginning, What he could see, Was the story He'd write about you and about me, When man ran away and decided to retreat, He was thinking of you – And He was thinking of me, When he started to pick up all of the debris, He was thinking of you – And he was thinking of me. When he was hanging on a tree – All he could see was you – and me. So the God of the universe has sent out His invitation He's already given us His presentation Bride are you ready to take part in the celebration? Natalie Newton