“Plan A” is Still On the Table in Your Life

Plan A is Still On the Table in Your Life

Have you made mistakes in life? Do decisions from your past haunt you? Do you think “plan A” is off the table because of things you’ve done that can never be undone? God’s word directly addresses these types of feelings, particularly in a specific verse in the book of Zecheriah. In Zech. 13:1, the prophet declares that a fountain of cleansing will be established for the people of God using language very reminiscent of the words of Jesus in John 4:14 and John 7:38.

Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

What is the fountain? We know from Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John that the fountain is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Jeremiah said that the heart of man is deceitfully wicked. The heart deceives us; it leads us to make terrible decisions that limit our future and rob us of God’s best many times. That is why God plants the springs of living water of the Holy Spirit in the very deepest and most vile part of human nature. To what end? For cleansing and refreshing.

The wording in Zech. 13:1 is very interesting. When we read words like “sin” and “uncleanness,” we tend to interpret them from a religious standpoint, and thereby they lose all their power to inform our situation. The word sin there includes a root word that means to “forfeit.” If an athlete doesn’t show up for a game or a boxing match, what happens? They forfeit the game. When we sin and allow our lives to be driven by a dynamic contrary to the character of Christ – we forfeit God’s blessing. The wonderful thing is, however, that God knows this is in man. Adam and Eve forfeited the greatest of blessings in the beginning. What is God’s provision? When you accept Christ as savior, He implants His Spirit in you for the purpose of CLEANSING away the very forfeiture of His best and highest will for your life. By the convicting power of the Holy Ghost as we repent and ask forgiveness, then the Spirit of God so acts – now get this – He so acts in our lives as to put God’s “Plan A” back on the table for us! Paul experienced this. He was a modern definition of a serial killer BUT GOD! The Holy Spirit brought him to repentance, and the fountain of God’s cleansing washed away the forfeiture of Paul’s horrible life and made him the architect of Christianity as we know it! If God can so work in Paul, don’t you know He can likewise work in your life?

In this verse, the word uncleanness refers to a woman with an issue of blood or a leper who was supposed to cry out “unclean!” “Unclean!” So that no one would come near them because of a condition of uncleanness that existed requiring them to be isolated and alone, often with no recourse or hope for the future. The word there in Zecheriah 13:1 has a root meaning of “to drive away.” Do you feel like you are an outcast? Rejection, loneliness, isolation cause horrible suffering in people’s lives, but I want to encourage you. There is a fountain! There is a cleansing resource by the miracle of the Holy Spirit that takes the ravages of isolation and loneliness and cleanses it totally out of your life and situation. Psa. 68:6 says God sets the solitary in families! It is not good to be alone, says God; therefore, you will not be alone!

How do we take advantage of this miraculous work of the Holy Ghost? Peter made it clear:

[Act 2:38 KJV] 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

You may be a believer already but let me ask you – does this verse apply to you? Do you need to be “born again, AGAIN?” Just repent. You know what for. You know the secret sin in your heart. You know those things that others aren’t aware of that are contaminating your conscience. Repent. Ask forgiveness. Let go of all attitudes of bitterness. Bitterness is a scourge among the people of God. Bitterness is the fruit of the tree of opinions in your life. Learn not to have an opinion. Humble yourself to God’s word. Know that the fountain of God in you is flowing, and the forfeiture of blessing and brutal isolation and loneliness are being swept away in your life by the power of the Holy Ghost. If that’s you – if that touches you are heart – just take a moment and say so, indicating your heart commitment by reply to this post.