I love memes. At least as far as entertainment goes they are arguably the internet’s greatest achievement.
Within about 2 seconds they can give you a chuckle or cause you to think. And sometimes even do both.
I came across one the other day in the latter category with this caption: Go ahead, make a plan. I dare you. –Life.
Not exactly laugh out loud funny, though the corner of my mouth might have twitched. I kept scrolling.
But the truth of it stuck with me.
Humanity is obsessed with making plans. We overfill planners and jot down to-do lists. I guess it makes us feel better knowing how the day is supposed to go. But then traffic jams happen, people don’t show up or we get sick and everything is thrown into chaos.
There is really only one surefire way to not blow a gasket when plans fall through and that’s to trust God. Proverbs 16:9 says that “the heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
I recall a “dream” job my wife was supposed to get a while back. She did everything required to establish the position, but at the last minute, for reasons out of her control, the job fell through.
Not long later, she discovered a passion for cosmetology and is now set to graduate cosmetology school. A drastic change of pace. The job that seemed so right was actually all wrong. We were devastated, but now we see the big picture.
She couldn’t be happier in how her steps were established by God.
Whether it’s the small steps of a day getting rerouted or life plans getting demolished, one thing is sure: Unexpected things will happen.
We just don’t know ourselves as well as we think we do. Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
It should be obvious that, if we were indeed designed, no one would know us better than our designer. Oftentimes we get angry with God because our plans don’t work out, but that would be like a Lamborghini arguing with its designer because it can’t fly.
That’s not what it was made to do. It was made to drive fast, handle curves and get noticed. That’s what it will be happiest doing. If you try to fly it off a cliff it will end in catastrophe every time.
So whenever plans fall by the wayside remember that God is simply saving you. Saving you for something unimaginably greater.