Contingency Plan Defined
A contingency plan, also known as Plan B, is an alternative or backup plan. People and businesses usually create contingency plans in the event their original plans collapse. These risk management strategies provide tactics to mitigate the negative outcomes resulting from a deviation from the original plan. Additionally, contingency plans are usually designed to respond to situations that may or may not be under our control. These events are usually situations and circumstances that catch us off guard. To assert that God has a contingency plan, a Plan B, would be to infer that there are some situations that are outside of his purview and that he was surprised by their occurrences.
Contingency Plan Versus God’s Nature
Before we can answer the question about whether God has a contingency plan, we have to understand his nature and compare it to basic contingency plan components. Remember, many contingency plans incorporate the element of surprise. However, this inherent characteristic is contrary to God’s omniscient and omnipresent nature. Unquestionably, God is all-knowing and all-present. Psalm 147:5 states that his understanding is infinite. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (ESV).
Another key component of contingency plans is that they are subject to chance. Again, considering that God is indeed omniscient and omnipresent, it is impossible for anyone to catch him off guard. In fact, God has unlimited power that does not depend on fortuity. The Bible says, “For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27, ESV)
Introducing Free Will
Based on our discussion so far, our comparison of God’s nature and the essential elements of a contingency plan suggests that God does not have a Plan B. However, a full analysis of the subject needs to take our free will into account. So, what is free will? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, free will is “the ability to decide what to do independently of any outside influence.” By that definition, some would contend that if humans genuinely possess free will, then our choices would ultimately determine God’s will. This then begs the question: Does man’s free will drive God’s plans?
Free Will Versus God’s Will
As much as we would like to think that our free will grants us carte blanche free reign, it does not. Proverbs 16:29 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” (NIV). Proverbs 16:19 further states, “Many are the plans of a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (NIV). Inherent in both proverbs is the fundamental principle that God is in control. For one, nature, which God created, limits man’s plans. For example, as much as we would like to exercise our free will to walk on water, we cannot. It’s not in our nature. Ultimately, our free will is subject to the laws of nature (e.g., gravitation, matter, and light). Secondly, our free will is not only constrained by the natural realm; it is also constrained by spiritual parameters.
Exploring Free Will
Earlier, we established that God determines man’s steps (Proverbs 16:29). This suggests that though we have free will, we are operating under pre-defined parameters. Furthermore, in Hebrews 12:1-2, Paul says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (NIV). While meditating on these two verses, God laid the following vision on my heart:
When trying to understand the relationship between God’s sovereignty (omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent) and our free will, picture a maze. Mazes have many pathways, but most usually have only one correct way to complete the puzzle. Think of our lives as a series of interconnected mazes, which we can call seasons. We enter our first season (the first maze) at birth. Bridges connect one maze (a season) to another. From the beginning (i.e., birth, the first maze) until the end (i.e., death, the last maze), God is in control. However, despite his sovereignty, he has given us free will over our choices, but those decisions can only be made within the confines of the maze parameters.
Defining the Seasons
Each season is a new maze with opportunities, obstacles, dead ends, and even death along the various pathways. Throughout our journey, the Holy Spirit travels alongside us and gently guides us through the changing seasons. However, our free will gives us the discretion to obey the Spirit’s prompting. While disobeying the Holy Spirit can lead to fruitful opportunities, it will always result in transitional delays. Our disobedience can also result in roadblocks and possibly death. Although God wants all of us to successfully make it to the end of our journey, sometimes our self-guided paths can lead to death. Matthew 7:13–14 says, 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (NIV).
The Relationship Between Death and Chance
To be clear, there are times when human acts might directly cause death, but there are also situations in which death is simply God’s will. When Jesus’s disciples asked him whether sin caused infirmity, Jesus responded by saying, “’Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’ (John 9:3). Oftentimes, it is hard for us to understand why good people die young or unexpectedly. Fortunately, Isaiah 52:1-2 provides us with some insight. The passage says:
The righteous perish,
and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death (NIV).
Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?
One of the most commonly-asked questions that arises when discussing God’s will is: Why does God allow bad things to happen? When answering that question, we need to recognize that we live in a fallen world, and the cumulative effects of sins caused by free will gone amuck have had a catastrophic impact on our planet.
Admittedly, there are times when God, in sovereignty, chooses not to intervene or terminate atrocities. With our feeble minds, it is impossible to understand his decision because God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8–9). Furthermore, Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God.” This means that there are things that only God knows and understands. While Jeremiah 33:3 says that if we call on God, he will answer us and show us great and mighty things we do not know, we still have to trust the Lord in situations where there are no human explanations. We have to trust in the promises of Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV).
Conclusion
Ultimately, God’s mere essence contradicts the very premise of a contingency plan. His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence suggest that there is no possible scenario that can catch him off guard, for he knows our beginning from our end. Therefore, we should be confident that when we find ourselves in dire straits, God has already formulated a plan—Plan A.