2 Corinthians 1:15-17 (NIV)
Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?
This whole section extends to 2:4, and the whole section should be read in order to provide the context for these verses. Some in Corinth were upset with Paul, accusing him of breaking his promises to them. Paul had planned to visit Corinth twice on his trip back to Judea, once while heading north to Macedonia, and again before he headed east to Judea. And he had told the Corinthians about that plan. But now some had found out that he had bypassed Corinth on his way north and was now planning a single stop before he turned east.
To some in Corinth, that seemed like Paul had lied to them, and they were accusing him of outright dishonesty. But Paul tells them very clearly that he had not lied to them. At the time he had told him of his plans, those were his plans. But events had taken place that made Paul reconsidered.
Relations between Paul and the Christians in Corinth had grown contentious. In large part this was because Paul was strongly advising them on divisions in the Church, on expelling some who were defiantly engaging in sin, and pushing back hard against the “super apostles” that had followed Paul into the city and were speaking strongly against both him and his teachings.
We do not have all the correspondence between Paul and the Corinthians preserved in our Scriptures. There are at least two letters Paul wrote that are not in the Bible. First Corinthians 5:9 mentions a letter Paul had written to the before he wrote 1 Corinthians. And in 2 Corinthians 2:4 and 7:8 he references a “sorrowful letter” he had written to them, apparently after 1 Corinthians. It is believed that this “sorrowful letter” had caused such a backlash that Paul had decided that it would be better to bypass Corinth on his way north to allow their hearts to cool down.
This points to an important principle that we can see lived out over and over again in Paul’s life: God’s people can make plans, but they must be held lightly, because things can change, sometimes with breathtaking speed, and the plans must be adapted to the new circumstances. God also can move a person in a different direction than they had earlier planned. So plan, but do so realizing that we are short sighted, and those carefully laid out plans may have to change before we are done.
Father, I am reminded of the quote attributed to Thomas a Kempis: “Man proposes, but God disposes.” We can make our plans, but the wisest of us include at the end of them “God willing”. Because sometimes, or more accurately, frequently, things change between the crafting of our plans and their execution, so that modifications, small or large, are needed as we move forward. Sometimes our best laid plans up having to be scrapped entirely, and completely new plans laid out because circumstances have changed so radically. It’s not dishonesty on our part when plans have to change. It is merely the result of our not being omniscient. Help us, Lord, to make plans with Your input so that they can be better plans, and, even more importantly, to hold all things loosely, so that You can help us to flow well with the shifting circumstances. Amen.
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