My Plans vs. His Plans

Alright, so it's a known fact that things in life don't always go as planned. At least, not the way we planned.

My own plans have been ruined countless times... Sometimes they're ruined by something as simple as a scheduling conflict, and other times by something more complicated, like a sickness.

I'll never forget the several times when my family is on vacation, and someone from our church passes away. My dad, being the wonderful pastor that he is (although, I'll admit, I might be a bit biased in that opinion), always comes back home to preach the funerals, or just comfort the family. Sounds pretty selfless, right? That may be the way my dad takes it, but it's not the way I normally see it. I'm selfish - obviously - and, to be quite honest, sometimes I get a little bit ticked off whenever these situations happen. But it's not like I can change them...

Point being, my plans and God's plans don't always coincide. As a matter of fact, they very rarely line up the same way. Normally, God has a habit of thinking a little bit more realistically than I do. And I don't blame Him there, I guess.

It's like this: I want cheesecake, He gives me a cheese stick; I want a whole new back-to-school wardrobe, He shows me that favorite old shirt of mine that I'd been searching for; I want a hot boyfriend, He gives me a nice new friendship.

Of course that's not exactly how it happens, but it always seems like the good Lord knows just what I need to get me by. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just His way of blessing me.

So while I'm sitting here trying to plan my whole life out perfectly (complete with the fame and fortune), God is showing me not where I want to go, but where I need to go.

"In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps."
- Proverbs 16:9

It's like the verse says... I can plan all I want to, but God ultimately determines where I go and what I do.

So here's the question: do I wait for Him to intervene on my plans, or do I ask him to take over before I even think about starting my own scheming? I choose option two. Why? you might ask...

I guess it's not always the easiest thing to hand over my plans to someone else. But it's sort of something that just has to be done. It's like handing over the keys of my sweet little Punch Bug to the mechanic... My car has to be fixed, and, whether I like it or not, the mechanic needs my keys to do that. So if I try to hold onto those keys, sooner or later my car's either going to break down completely, or someone's goings to take my keys and have my car fixed for me. Which brings me to my point: wouldn't it be easier to just give the man my keys in the first place, before my car breaks down or falls apart?

Ding ding ding! When you give your plans to God, and ask Him to plan for you, the results are gonna be soooo much better than if you keep trying to hold onto those plans and stay in control of them yourself.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed."
- Proverbs 16:3

Even His Word says that when you commit your plans to Him,  they'll go over better. If that's not a good enough reassurance, then I don't know what is!