The Best Laid Plans

“The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” – Psalm 32:8. 

Have you ever asked God for something and He gave you the opposite?  How did you handle that? What do you do when you are trying your very best to live according to God’s word, trust Him with your life and trust Him with the outcome? Do you get angry with God?  Have you ever quit trusting that God has a plan?  Is it easy to become confused?

There are several people in the Bible who experienced this. Most Christians have read these stories many times yet after 2020, they seem to come alive in a new and vibrant way. The story that always comes to mind when a Christian thinks of adverse circumstances is Job. It is hard to imagine how he could see much good in God’s plan for his life.  He is going along living his life, taking care of his family, just minding his own business, and then boom, his life completely falls apart.  He loses everything all at once.  Every single area of his life was touched by this. His family, his work, his friends, his faith.  Literally, every single area of his life was touched.

We know that God only wants what is best for us. The Bible said that before He formed me in the womb He knew me. How could He not want what is best for me? He promises to work everything out for my good. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)

If we spend all of our time on the negative in our life, we will lose sight of God’s grace and mercy in our lives. Psalm 136:1 says, “ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”

God has a plan for our lives. We may never understand why things have turned out the way they have. But we do know that God is in control and He has a reason for allowing it. We may never know why God has either caused or allowed certain things in my life, but it’s ok not to have all the answers as long as He does. 

The key is to trust and rest in Him. How can I rest when I need answers?  We need to be doing something.  We need to fix things right? But that really isn’t our job.  Our job is to not be afraid.  Our job is to trust His heart and His plan and to rest in Him.  Sometimes it is hard to jump off the merry go round of trying to fix things, letting God be in control, getting anxious and impatient, then trying to fix things again.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why is it so hard to trust in God’s plan for our life? 
2. What can we do this week to trust that God is in control and wants the best for us?