No "Plan B"

God responds with answers to those who rely upon Him.  As long as we have a backup plan, the very existence of such a plan shows our faith is not in God.  To paraphrase a quote from Transformational Discipleship (by Geiger, Kelley, Nation), our "Plan B" is an offense to God.  God should not be at the top of our personal pecking order, but the One in whom we seek refuge.  There is to be no other retreat for a believer.  God is not to be our last resort, nor should we line up options should He not respond according to our demands or impatience.

There is a telling contrast in the Bible between two kings:  King Saul and King Hezekiah.  With impending war looming on the horizon, each of these kings responded quite differently.  Despite their differences, both these kings share something in common:  they both sought the LORD first.  The condition of their hearts and the reality of their faith would be revealed to us, even as it was known by God before they approached Him!  Let us begin with the example of Saul found in 1 Samuel 28:4-8:  "Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. ⁶ And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor." ⁸ So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Please conduct a seance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you."  Saul was a man with a "Plan-B."  He had forsaken God for decades, yet in a moment of desperation he did all in his power to seek God.  He sought an answer from prophets, and even waited for God to speak to him in a dream!  No answer came.

Since God did not respond to proud and unrepentant King Saul, he implemented his backup plan.  He told his servants to find a medium so he could inquire of her.  God didn't provide Saul an answer, so Saul sought the counsel of devils.  Saul decided to resort to seeking advice of those he had been tasked to remove from the land because of their abominations.  In his mind, he had no choice.  He easily justified going to a medium when God did not answer, even as he "forced himself" to sacrifice unto the LORD when Samuel did not arrive as quickly as he hoped (1 Samuel 13:8-14).  Saul's eyes were ever upon himself and others - and did not look to God in faith.  He feared when the people began to scatter from him, and feared when enemies encamped against him.  Saul's fears of defeat were fully realised the very next day when he was wounded on Mt. Gilboa and decided to end his life by falling on his own sword in battle.

Over the course of time, Hezekiah became king in Jerusalem.  The King of Assyria sent a vast army on multiple occasions to intimidate and threaten Hezekiah and the people.  2 Kings 19:1-7 tells us what happened:  "And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. ² Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. ³ And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. ⁴ It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.' " ⁵ So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶ And Isaiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to your master, 'Thus says the LORD: "Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. ⁷ Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land."  Hezekiah tore his clothes in grief, and immediately went into the house of the LORD.  He sent word to Isaiah the prophet to pray for the people, for they were in great strife.  Immediately an answer from God was sent.  Hezekiah was commanded not to fear, for the LORD would send their enemies away.  He would fight for them through a rumour to draw the army away from the doorstep of Jerusalem.

But the fight wasn't over.  The Assyrians sent a letter to Hezekiah, telling him it was pointless to trust in God.  Hezekiah followed the same pattern as previously.  2 Kings 19:14-19 reads, "And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. ¹⁵ Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: "O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, ¹⁸ and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands--wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. ¹⁹ Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone."  Amazingly, the prophet Isaiah sent an answer of peace and promises (without Hezekiah even sending messengers this time) in 2 Kings 19:20:  "Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.'"

The King of Assyria had spoken high things against God, and Hezekiah sought refuge in God.  He was not looking to Egypt, his weapons, army, or the Temple of the LORD:  he looked to the LORD of the Temple!  Without a backup plan Hezekiah spread out the letter before the LORD, and God answered.  2 Kings 19:32-37 says, "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. ³³ By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,' says the LORD. ³⁴ 'For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.' ³⁵ And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses--all dead. ³⁶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. ³⁷ Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place."

When we face conflict, we are given the choice to line up our options.  These examples reveal the folly of trusting in self or resorting to a "Plan B" when God sits on the throne.  If we have a "Plan B," God will not be our "Plan A!"  God regards, defends, and fights for those who trust wholly in Him.  Is He not able to supply all our needs?  The God who created the ear, shall He not hear?  The God who formed the eye, shall He not see?  The God who created all things remains in total, complete control.  Fear Him, seek Him, and your eyes will see the salvation of the LORD!