Does God Have a Plan for Your Life?
“Pastor, we would love for you to officiate our wedding!” To say I was excited would be an understatement. I was truly honored to take part in this gift from God, where two individuals make a covenant with God, and a life-long commitment to one another. There was even a cherry on top: this was going to be a destination wedding in Dominican Republic. After I calmed myself down, I had to ask myself. Should I go alone or take my whole family? I felt guilty about traveling to paradise all by myself, but how was I supposed to take care of the expense of four airline tickets? Then I remembered the voucher I received from an airline about a year ago.
On December of 2017, my family and I attended a family gathering in Winnipeg, Canada. It’s not the most pleasant place to visit in winter, since the temperature often drops -40 degrees (°F/°C). On our return flight, we had to endure the extreme temperature on the airplane for over an hour, while they tried to start a completely frozen engine. The airline graciously issued the vouchers and it was now about to expire. Does God have a plan? God had given a voucher for my entire family a year in advance, so that we would be able to create new memories in paradise. God is good all the time!
After cramming our suitcases into a micro-car I rented at the Punta Cana Airport, we embarked on our journey toward the hotel. I travel cheap, but not too cheap. I at least booked the 2nd cheapest hotel in Punta Cana, not the cheapest. As we were nearing our destination, I noticed a series of abandoned buildings on either side of the road. Something did not feel right. We were so relieved when we saw the security check point.
“Hola, Como Esta! Hotel,” I told the guard as I pointed to the online reservation on my phone. The google translator couldn’t really help me in understanding the guard’s reply. After getting my Dominican friend from the States on the phone, I discovered a serious problem. The hotel I reserved was actually an apartment that belonged to an individual, and the guard told me that I would not be able to go into the apartment until the owner arrives. Neither the guard, nor I knew the phone number for the person, and my family and I just had to wait under the scorching hot sun, surrounded by abandoned buildings with a security guard holding a rifle.
Four hours went by with no owner in sight. By this time, the sun was going down, and the pickup truck with around 15 security guards were getting ready to head home for the night. No hotel, No sun, and no armed guards! The thought of ruining my family’s vacation was weighing heavily on my heart. What was I thinking, booking the 2nd cheapest hotel? When I returned from my trip, I learned that this was the same week that American Tourists were kidnapped. Let me ask you, Does God have a plan? God gave me the wisdom to call the company through whom I booked the hotel, and after about an hour and a half of explaining the situation, the company reserved another place for us at no extra charge.
After 30 minutes of driving in the dark through unfamiliar territory, we arrived at our new hotel. As we were checking in, I asked the receptionist if there was any restaurant nearby. It was around 9pm, and we haven’t had dinner, so all of us were starving. The guest relations informed me there were 10 restaurants on the property. He said that the buffet restaurant was still open. “How much is the buffet?” I asked; with puzzled look he replied, “It’s free!” The new accommodation booked for my family was an All-Inclusive Resort! That night, my wife, Minha, and I repeated the phrase, “Praise God” over and over again. Our overflowing joy and thankfulness could not be contained. Isn’t this what God’s grace is like? God gives His amazing grace to an undeserving sinner like me, and all I can say in response is, Praise God! That joy cannot be contained.
One of the greatest joys in life is eating delectable food. We could not wait to explore all ten restaurants, and one in particular could only be accessed through reservation at the concierge office. Calix, the concierge, shared with me that the only available time was 9pm. That is not my usual time for dinner, but did it bother me? Not one bit. As I conversed with the Concierge, he asked me what I did for a living. After hearing that I was a pastor, he said he was in a pathfinder club as a young boy in Haiti. “Pathfinder?” “I’m a Seventh-Day Adventist minister!” He and I both looked at each other in amazement. He told me the story of how he used to attend a Seventh-Day Adventist church until his mother passed away few years ago. After his daughter was born, he had been thinking about returning to church, but he just could not get himself to do it.
Does God have a plan? Here I was, thanking God for this amazing accommodation for me and my family. An all-inclusive resort, with the on-site water park, was such a huge gift from God. God absolutely wanted me and my family to enjoy these things, but God had a greater purpose. He had sent me as a missionary to speak to this young man who has been searching for a way to return to God and join the church family.
Calix asked me if I had posted my sermons on Youtube. He said he has been looking for sermons to watch online. I did not have my own to share, but I had something better to share with him. The day before we left for our trip, I was attending the Pastor’s meeting at the conference where a Haitian pastor shared a website that he has started the same week full of ministry resources in English and Creole for Haitians. Does God have a plan? “Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing.” (Ministry of Healing p.281).
Does God have a plan for your life? As a minister of the gospel and as a fragile human being, I at times wondered, “Is God still working through me? Does God still desire to do great things through me?" God had the perfect plan to teach me that this ministry is not about me, but all about God. Even though I made no plans to do mission work on this trip, God had pre-arranged for me to be used for His glory. I can concur God’s words to Paul, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’. ‘Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).
Pastor Stephen Lee is blessed to serve God together with his wife, Minha, and their two sons, Ethan and Elliott in New Jersey.