This Just Wasn’t MY Plan
What happens when our intentions, our goals, or our plans goes awry? “This isn’t what I (or we) planned!” How well I remember that place of feeling stuck. Our lives were not going the way we had planned. Although it was always the greatest desire of our hearts to trust the Father completely, trusting wasn’t easy when our plans were wrecked and our dreams were relinquished to a divine design that we didn’t understand.
We knew plenty of scriptures and quotes well that helped us to stay the course. We had “Expect a miracle” signs all over our home. We believed and spoke out “He did it before. He’ll do it again!” “Hold on, my child. Joy comes in the morning!” “When you’ve done all to stand, keep standing!” And I could hear those stories, coming from everywhere, of a plan that isn’t ours, but of one when God who knows so much better than we do.
Right now, you may be in the middle of trying to figure out what in the world is going on with the plans you made, too. You may be thousands of dollars in debt for a degree that you’re not sure you want any more or for that business start-up investment, and “trends” aren’t on your side. You may look over at the empty space next to you in bed, aching for it to be filled with the spouse you thought would be here by now or for the one whose life was cut short. Or maybe your life is everything you hoped it would be, but there’s profound emptiness where contentment should be.
Best laid plans sometimes go awry! How many times do our long-awaited plans and visions go wrong? Most of those times, there are logical reasons beyond our control that keep us from our plans. Other times, it’s simply a matter of readjusting a schedule, and the plan can proceed. Changing the course or our mind isn’t a bad thing. Having to reconfigure doesn’t make us a flip-flopper. In fact, accepting that God could be planning an even better outcome than what we had planned makes us flexible.
Our Heavenly Father knows exactly where we are and exactly where He desires us to be. God is not deaf to our prayers nor blind to our place. His ways are simply better.
We can be angry that our lives have been disrupted, or we can trust that God is crafting a life for us that is far better than we could ever imagine. Living the life is not always easy, but Christ’s message is simple “Trust me. I’ve got this. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life.” Our plans may go awry, and tough times may come unexpectedly, but we can be grateful for a God who loves us enough to let OUR plans go awry when it is for our good and His glory.
“Oh the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future!” Jeremiah 29:11