When My Plans Fail, Does God Still Abide With Me?
We all make plans. We make them because we want to have a definite idea of what we should be doing and what we can accomplish in the future.
In a way, our plans help us to be in control of our lives. Without them, we may find ourselves lost and drifting away, with no sense of direction or purpose.
But many times, plans don’t happen exactly the way we want them to. Plans can change at the very last moments to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Varying factors may even block the best plans we have ever made.
In my own life, for instance, I didn’t plan to be single. I didn’t plan for my first business venture to fail. I didn’t plan to be struggling financially as a freelance writer.
What do we do when our plans don’t happen the way we thought they would? Should we decide for ourselves never to make plans again? Do we wallow in sorrow and despair, thinking it is hopeless for us to achieve any sense of order for our lives?
What we must realize is that sometimes, it is God Himself who allows our plans to be thwarted. Because although He has given us the freedom to think and act, He is also just as free to help us and come to our defense.
Isn’t He the God of Wisdom who knows far better than we do? Is He not already in the future where He knows how our plans would affect our eternal destiny?
He cannot force His way upon our freedom to plan, but He can make us see that some plans can be harmful for us in the long run. He can nudge us back into re-thinking them, so that we may plan better things according to His will.
While I didn’t plan to be single, singleness has helped me focus on God more each day. God knew me and what kind of life would best help me draw closer to Him.
Right now, even in the midst of my financial struggles, perhaps He is leading me to more faith in Him and His providence.
Sometimes He presents challenges along the way. And it is not to make it difficult for us to achieve our plans. But He wants us to strive harder and become stronger and wiser while doing so.
You see, what you achieve is not as important to God as what you could become.
Plans can change at any minute. And our achievements can be taken away by unforeseen calamities. But the kind of person we have become will always make a difference in our lives wherever we may be.
Let us not think we are alone when devising plans for our future. God is with us and God knows our efforts to achieve them.
Let Him guide you from the very start. And when things don’t turn out your way, surrender everything upon His hands.
The kind of life He is willing to give you is far better than any plan you could ever create or imagine.
“The human mind plans the way,
but the Lord directs the steps.”
-Proverbs 16:9 (NRSVCE)