This really speaks to my heart. Much of my life has not turned out as I had planned it. But to remember that it is God redirecting my paths reminds me that I should hold on to my plans loosely, and not get discouraged, weary, resentful or cynical (all are things I struggle with). I pray that God will use this amaaziiinng truth to prompt me to continuously submit to His thoughts, plans and ways in childlike trust and humility. I am not my own. I have been bought with a price. My life is about loving Jesus and making His name great, not mine. When things just don't go as I've planned, dreams are shattered and hopes dashed, I pray that God will help me keep singing the lines of this beautiful song:
Be still, my soul. Thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
From "Not by sight" by Jon Bloom (slightly paraphrased)
There are times, while seeking to follow God faithfully, we find ourselves in a desperate moment, forced to a place we would not choose to go. It's then we must remember: our lives and circumstances are not ultimately about us (1 Cor 6:19-20). They are about Jesus Christ.
The Father has purposes for us and our hardships that extend far beyond us. What often appear like misfortunes in the moment later prove to be means of great mercies. In your place of desperation it may be that what you need most is not less turmoil, but more trust. For God chooses stables of desperation as the birthplaces of His overwhelming grace.
"THE HEART OF MAN plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Prov 16:9).
This is just another way of saying that when your plans are detoured and redirected, you find out who's really charting the course. You start to learn very quickly that your own plans were not a thing to be grasped. Whatever future you had originally imagined for yourself evaporated in the heat of a reality determined by Another. And as you follow the path of faith, you would have repeatedly found and will repeatedly find it taking unpredictable turns (e.g., waiting on God for last-minute guidance and provision).
This path was difficult, dangerous, expensive, time-consuming and career delaying. And it was all God's will. The unplanned, inefficient detours of our lives are planned by God. God's ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8-9). They are frequently bewildering to us, but they are always better because God is orchestrating far more than we see or know in every unexpected event and delay.
So when you find yourself suddenly moving in a direction you had not planned, take heart; the Great Planner (such a cool description of You, Dad.. You know how I love planning. Teehee :D) has something much better in mind for you and countless others.
Be still, my soul. Thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.
From "Not by sight" by Jon Bloom (slightly paraphrased)
There are times, while seeking to follow God faithfully, we find ourselves in a desperate moment, forced to a place we would not choose to go. It's then we must remember: our lives and circumstances are not ultimately about us (1 Cor 6:19-20). They are about Jesus Christ.
The Father has purposes for us and our hardships that extend far beyond us. What often appear like misfortunes in the moment later prove to be means of great mercies. In your place of desperation it may be that what you need most is not less turmoil, but more trust. For God chooses stables of desperation as the birthplaces of His overwhelming grace.
"THE HEART OF MAN plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Prov 16:9).
This is just another way of saying that when your plans are detoured and redirected, you find out who's really charting the course. You start to learn very quickly that your own plans were not a thing to be grasped. Whatever future you had originally imagined for yourself evaporated in the heat of a reality determined by Another. And as you follow the path of faith, you would have repeatedly found and will repeatedly find it taking unpredictable turns (e.g., waiting on God for last-minute guidance and provision).
This path was difficult, dangerous, expensive, time-consuming and career delaying. And it was all God's will. The unplanned, inefficient detours of our lives are planned by God. God's ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8-9). They are frequently bewildering to us, but they are always better because God is orchestrating far more than we see or know in every unexpected event and delay.
So when you find yourself suddenly moving in a direction you had not planned, take heart; the Great Planner (such a cool description of You, Dad.. You know how I love planning. Teehee :D) has something much better in mind for you and countless others.
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