Plan B

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5,6

I have written a lot about my passion for planning, for lists, for schedules, for predictability, for organization... I sometimes think I get more enjoyment out of the planning of an event than the actual occurrence of the  event!  (:  True to this facet of my personality, I even applied recently for a job as a Program Director with the organization I work with now, where I would plan the events at one of our senior centers.

The funny thing about plans is that they never seem to work out in real life quite the same way that they work out in my head.  In other words, even after planning something to death, I can never know exactly what to expect.  I would even go as far as to say that my "Plan As" never work out.   Have you ever heard the quote, "If Plan A doesn't work out remember you still have twenty-five letters left?"  Well, it's a good thing.  And I call those 25 letters... God's grace.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." 

Proverbs 19:21

Because our Plan B (and C, and D, and E, and so on and so forth) is not God's Plan B.  He does not have to have "back-up plans" or "Plan Bs."  Because His plans do not go awry.

"He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just.  A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He."  

Deuteronomy 32:4

If God's plans are PERFECT, why would I want my imperfect, incomplete, human plans to interfere with His perfect God- plans? Why would I not choose His over my own?!

 "You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain."  

Psalm 139:5,6

God sees the whole picture.  He is powerful enough to be able to do this.  We could not even handle seeing the whole picture!  Our minds and hearts could not contain it... it is too lofty for us! 

And since we know that He sees the whole picture, even when we cannot so much as see the light at the end of the tunnel, it makes PERFECT sense to...

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans."  

Proverbs 16:3

And we cannot even fathom what God has planned for us if we will surrender our plans to Him.  He will turn our plans into plans bigger than we ever imagined possible (Ephesians 3:20)! HIS plans are not confined by human boundaries or earthly limits.  Time, geography, circumstances... those things cannot contain God; nor can they thwart His plans.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts."

Isaiah 55:9

What a load off... to know that we need not have every moment of every day planned to the most minute detail.  All we need do is commit our plans to the Lord.  He will not let our feet slip.  He will watch over us even in the dead of night (Psalm 121:3, my paraphrase). 

"The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever- do not abandon the works of your hands."

Psalm 138:8

Our Lord has no Plan B's, because HIS plans never fail.  And He will not abandon the works of His hands!!!  The plans He has for us are significant.  Our lives in Him are significant.  Our dreams and desires are even significant to Him. We need not fear or fret.  We need only to live surrendered to Him.  

My prayer for today is that God will direct my heart and my plans, so that my desires and plans align with the desires and plans that He holds in His hand for me to take hold of.  I pray that I will not grasp or grab desperately at these plans, but that I will instead wait patiently and work diligently!!!