It seems that this past year and a half has not gone as anyone had thought or planned. No one imagined COVID would spark a global pandemic. No one thought the pandemic would “last this long.” No one thought COVID would “make a come-back.”
This past year and a half has not been one that any of us could have planned for. So, what do we do when everything we had planned, get tossed by the wayside for something that was not planned? I’m sure this is a question that many of us have asked ourselves.
I’m not sure about you, but I am a planner. I like knowing what I am doing and what I have coming up. I love having lists of details that need to be accomplished that I can check off as they are completed.
Thinks not going as planned doesn’t usually set well with me. But, this past year and a half reminded me that my plans do not matter when I allow my planning to get in the way of what God has planned.
A commonly known portion of scripture is Proverbs 3 verse 5 & 6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight” (NIV).
Nowhere in this portion of scripture does it say that God will make my plans work out. Rather, it says that I need to put my trust in Him and He will make things work out.
In the Lord’s prayer we pray “thy will be done,” not my will.
So, what does this mean for a person like me who desires detailed plans to follow?
When things are not going as we planned, we need to recenter ourselves. We need to get refocused on where our focus truly needs to be, God. It is great to have a detailed plan and to know what you are doing and when it needs to be done by, but sometimes we allow ourselves to get before God. Sometimes our plans are not in line with God’s plans.
If this past year and a half has taught me anything, it is that we need to refocus ourselves on God. Don’t get me wrong, having your own plans is great, but are they in line with God’s plan? Often times we get comfortable in our daily lives and the plans we have planned that we slowly leave God out of our plans.
My challenge for myself and everyone reading this article is to recenter yourself on God. Where is He leading you? What plans is He putting in front of you? When your plans don’t work out, turn to God and see where He is leading you to go next.
