Few decisions reveal human ignorance and stupidity more than someone who says, “I’m going to take on God and try to beat Him.”
When we think about it, this decision is made multiple times every day around the world. People look at God’s revealed will for their lives and believe it doesn’t apply to them, choosing their own course of action.
This is what Nahum meant when he wrote about the Assyrians who “plot against the Lord.”
Why do you plot against the Lord?
He will make an end;
no adversary will rise up twice.
Like thorns they are entangled;
like drunkards they are drunk;
they are consumed like dry straw.
From you one has gone out
who plots evil against the Lord,
one who counsels wickedness. (Nahum 1.9-11)
In the YouTube videos that Rudy Ross and I produce together, he often speaks about iniquity. He sees iniquity as thoughts that oppose God, or in the words of Nahum, “plots” against God in our mind.
Those thoughts, when turned to action, become transgressions.
We look at God’s “No Trespassing” sign, think it doesn’t apply to us, and step over the line into behavior that is opposed to God’s will and harmful to others.
The thing about a plot is that it is intentional. It is cynical. It is a willful choice to live opposed to God’s will and to harm others for personal benefit.
Why Fight Against the Lord
Why would anyone choose to fight against their Creator and the Lord of the Universe? Psalm 2 gives us insight into that mindset.
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast their cords from us.” (Psalm 2.1-3)
People who look at God’s “No Trespassing” sign and choose to disregard His will do so because they believe that God’s will is restrictive rather than liberating.
I once asked a group of people if they believed that God could throw a good party. They tried to give me good Sunday school answers, but deep down, they were still wondering if following God would be fun.
Others are far more cynical than this group, and they know that if they follow God, they can’t practice the things they do. They choose to plot against God and other humans to selfishly attain the desires of their hearts.
We do well to pause at this point and pray, “Lord, how am I like the bad guys in this story?”
Jesus’ Yoke
Dallas Willard has said that the cost of being a disciple is very real. However, Willard continued to say, the cost of not being a disciple is even more expensive.
When we reach the end of ourselves as plotters against the Lord, Jesus has an amazing offer for us.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11.28-30).
Yes, following Jesus is costly. He has a yoke that restricts our actions, as they must now conform to God’s will rather than our selfish schemes and plots.
At the same time, his yoke is light and liberating. It’s like a Shetland pony pulling alongside a Clydesdale horse in a harness. The pony’s load is light, but it must follow the direction of the Clydesdale.
When we are hooked up to the Lord, He gives us all the strength we need for the best life possible. He is the one who pulls the load, but we have to go in His direction.
For those who decide to stop plotting against the Lord and instead embrace the Lord’s guidance, there are two essential steps. First, we must come to the Lord. Second, as Jesus instructs, we should learn from Him.
We have an amazing opportunity to learn how to live from the greatest person to walk the Earth.
God has given us the Bible, and within it, we have the Gospels. There, Jesus speaks to us through both his teaching and his actions. Each day, we can come and learn another part of how to live.
He also gives us the Holy Spirit. Once he reveals to us his will, the Spirit will give us the power to carry it out.
Isn’t that much better than trying to plot against the Lord and resist his will?
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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