The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

This week, my family and I are visiting my mother-in-law and other family members in New England.  With seven people the dates and travel plans had to be carefully coordinated around work, new jobs, the school calendar, etc.  The activities are more loosely planned, but planned to some extent prior to arrival.  My older grandson and I drove up first and spent a day at the beach as planned.  That evening, we met my wife at the airport.  The plan for the following day was for the three of us to return to the beach for a day of sun and fun.  We got up early and left for the beach, found a spot, and proceded to the water.  After a short time our grandson got cold and decided that he wanted to climb on the rocks.  My wife went with him while I went back to our blanket and chairs.  A few minutes later my grandson came to me with a somber look and said “Grammy needs you.  She’s hurt.”  In short, my wife had fallen and fractured her ankle.  In the split second of that fall, all of our plans for that day and many for the next week were altered.  None of our plans included hospitals, doctors, or and air cast and crutches.  It’s not the first time that our plans were altered nor will it be the last.  But if I’ve learned anything in my Christian walk, it’s that I must always be open to God’s adjustments to my plans.  His plans for us are always for our good and His glory.  As I contemplate the changes that He has made to plans throughout my life and the lives of others, the top four reasons that come to mind are: redirection, placement, refinement, and grace.

At times, we as God’s children need to be redirected.  Whether it’s temptation, a lapse in judgement, fear or outright sin, God will often intervene to change our course.  One of the most vivid examples that I can offer is Jonah.  God gave Him a mission.  He was to go to Nineveh, warn them that they had forty days to repent of their sin or be overthrown.  Because they were enemies of Israel, Jonah could not abide the thought that they might actually repent and be saved so he got on a ship sailing to Tarshish, ended up in the belly of a fish for three days and then went to Nineveh to call for their repentance as God had originally directed him.  When our plans are in conflict with God’s directives or laws, He will in His mercy change our plans, put impediments in the way or alter our mindset to pull us back into His will.  We can never expect God to sanction any of our plans that are opposed to His will for us, but we can always count on His willingness to either pull us back or patiently wait for us to realize the error of our ways and repent.

There are also times when God changes our course to put us in the place that He wants us.  Such was the case of Esther.  God raised this Jewish woman in exile to the position of Queen of Persia and used her to protect His people.  Her cousin Mordecai recognized this and urged her to use her influence by saying:  “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)  In fact scripture is full of examples of people whose plans were redirected by God to place them in positions to fulfill a specific purpose.  I have seen this in my own life.  Neither my wife nor I ever had a burning desire to live in Indiana, but we have both considered it an act of God that we live here.  In hind sight, I can see many reasons why God chose to relocate.  Twenty-six years later, if asked why we moved to Indiana, I will simply say that it was an act of God.  There is no other reasonable explanation.

Refinement is another cause for God to intervene and change our plans.  I have no doubt that this is part of the God’s plan for my wife and I with respect to her ankle.  In the grand scheme it is a relatively small thing but certainly it is something for us to endure and learn from.  We must set our plans aside, submit, be patient, and adapt.   God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that God is making each of us into a “new creature”.  In order to do that He must refine us as described in Malachi 3:3: “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.”  While we often like to think that the process of sanctification will be an easy experience, the truth is that change is often painful.  Our character flaws must be revealed and altered, our bad habits and attitudes must be rejected and replaced by God’s principles for living, and we must submit our will to God’s.  While it is truly a wonderful and blessed experience/process, it is also a painful and often difficult one that yields benefits beyond what we can imagine.  It is pain with divine purpose and reward for in it God gives us a new heart, draws us close and prepares us for eternity with Him.

Finally, there are times when God changes our plans as a sheer act of kindness.  Sometimes I feel that Jeremiah 29:11 which says: “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” is overused, but I’m not sure that it is truly possible as God’s kindnesses permeate every aspect of our lives.  It may be as simple as delaying our departure to avoid an accident, or as monumental as my illness which brought me to a much deeper relationship with Him and everything in between.  Admittedly, God’s salvation and refinement are His ultimate acts of kindness; but He also intervenes in our plans in big and small ways to encourage us or allow us to enjoy unexpected simple pleasures of this life.  Not only is God the sovereign Lord of the universe, but He is also our tender, loving Heavenly Father who wants us to relish the taste of food, vivid sunrises and sunsets as well as other marvels of His creation, time with our loved ones and the little ways that He allows us to see Him working on our behalf to encourage us.  We merely need to watch for them to recognize them.

While planning and organization usually make our lives run more smoothly, there are times when our plans are not in our best interest, do not fit with God’s plan for us or need to change to refine us or allow us to simply enjoy life with Him more richly.  Part of maturing in faith is learning to yield to His amendments to our intentions understanding that He has good reason that He may or may not share with us.  It is patiently enduring the unplanned and trusting in His love for us.  James encourages us to plan with open minds:  “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’”  Yes we plan but in yielding to Gods alterations, we recognize that He is, in fact, directing our path.  In those moments… especially when we don’t understand why, we trust in His wisdom, character and love for us knowing that it is for our good and His glory.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, submit to him, and allow Him to direct your ways.

Will