Day 152: Loose Grip on Plans

I recently watched a sermon by one of my favorite speakers, Judah Smith, and something he said changed my perspective on a very familiar scripture, Proverbs 16:9 which reads:

A man’s heart plans his way,

But the Lord directs his steps.

He said, “You are only as surrendered as your next step.” He then goes on to expand on that statement by saying,

“God if this is where you want me to go then this is where I’m going...What if this next step isn’t what I want. What if it’s the loss of what I want to do.” Then he says something amazing, “One of the best things that might happen is we don’t get what we want but what God wants.”

As human beings, and as products of the new generation we have been taught to always have a plan, a plan on where you’re going and you’re going to get there, and I don’t just mean in life. We are told to have backup plans just in case the first one doesn’t work out. We plan out our entire lives, with our schedules and reminders to do things, We make plans with friends and we have to figure out, where we’re meeting, but before that we have to figure out where we’re going, who’s going, and how many are going just in case someone is late. Then we figure out how we’re going to get there and the times we want to meet. Sometimes we go as far as to figure out who will get there first just in case we need to save seats or order appetizers. Then it’s set in stone, we are going to Applebee’s at 7 pm on Friday, one group will get there a 6 in case it’s crowded, and then we will figure out the rest of the night at dinner. We might not have the entire night planned but we have enough to get it started. The rest just might be on impulse, who knows what will happen.

Things go as planned for me about 50% of the time, if that. But I must say that the best and most memorable moments I’ve had is when things don’t go as planned or they just happen spontaneously. My friends and I plan stuff about 25% percent of the time, other times it’s just spontaneous. The thing is when we do make plans and they don’t go how we thought we’re usually cool with it because we weren’t holding so tight to our plans that we objected to them changing.  We might plan to go to Applebee's but end up at the park with pizza and blankets, and end up having a great time. I think you can figure out where I’m going with this.

That’s how it is with God, we make plans and He interrupts them but He will always interrupt them for the better. Now sometimes He will throw an interference when we’re out here planning to do things we know we shouldn’t be doing. But that’s another devo for another day. What I’m saying here is that wherever we are going God directs our steps for us to get there. You ever make a plan and didn’t know where to start, you know where you’re going but you don’t know how you’re going to get there? It’s a great plan but where do you start? God show us those steps, and the path may not look like what we thought it would, where we end up may not be on the vision board, but it will be greater than we ever imagined. God will take us further than we’d ever thought we’d go. We just have to trust the steps He’s telling us to take. We have to know that wherever our foot lands, it’s exactly where God wants us to be.

This doesn't mean that we give up dreaming, or we give up our plans, it means we hold them loosely. It means that we know that things could change and that is okay. Often we end up stagnate or traveling in circles because we are afraid of change. Sometimes interrupted plans are better than the original. We just have to be willing to go with the flow. It’s hard to swim against the current because it’ll keep pushing us back to where we are trying to get away from. It’s pushing us in the direction that it is going in and when we fight against that all we do is exhaust ourselves and end up right back where we started. When God is telling us to go one way and we are set on going the other direction because it’s our plan trust me, we will always end up right where we started going where He originally told us. Sometimes we have to give up our plans, to follow God.

At the end of the day, I want you to know that there is nothing wrong with making plans. There is something wrong with holding on so tight to those plans that not even God can move us. Make plans but grip them loosely and don’t be afraid of change. Don’t write them in ink.

Reflection

1. Do you have plans for where you want your life to go?
2. How tight are you holding on to those plans?
3. If God wanted to erase them and write a new plan, would you be willing to go with it? Really think about this question before answering.

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Talk to Him about your plans and be willing to give them up if He tells you to take a step in the opposite direction.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening, be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 153!