What Happens When I Don’t Agree With God’s Plan?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” – Proverbs 3:5-6.    

Life doesn’t always go the way we planned, does it? Something unexpected happens. We hear bad news. There is trouble at work. Cars break down. Family members say things or do things that hurt us. Someone promises something and then disappoints us. There are times when life seems like it is going in the wrong direction. You’re going one way but God seems to be pulling you another way.   

As Christians we regularly hear that “God has a plan for my life.” And it’s true. Your Heavenly Father has a wonderful plan in mind for you. This plan does not only include your overall contentment and peace but also includes things He wants us to do. When we surrender our life to God, we are allowing God to have full control of our lives. But we still have the power to make choices. You can choose not to follow God’s will for your life. God is still guiding but it’s totally up to you to accept and apply the guidance to your life.

The story of Jonah is a case in point. We all know the story of how Jonah got swallowed by a great big fish because he didn’t want to go to Nineveh. It is also a story of God going to great lengths to get Jonah to do what He asked him to. But don’t all of us have a little Jonah in us?  You can feel God’s spirit pointing you in a particular direction, but we (just like Jonah) are determined to run in the opposite direction because we don’t agree with God’s plan. 

Like Jonah, we may be going through some hard times. God is working in our lives and like Jonah, we need to let go. We need to let God be God and trust all that He says He is and will do in our lives.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be like Paul, sitting in our prison (of doubt, worry, anxiety) praising God? But if we are honest we don’t do that. Sometimes we struggle with God’s plan for our lives. When we don’t see any practical way this can work out for our good is when we struggle with trust.  

But if we pause and look back at the mistakes we have made, we conclude that we often create the mess we are in and that we don’t deserve His goodness and grace. Then God reminds us of His great love. We have His assurance that He’s got this. It’s under control. I don’t have to have all the answers.  That’s not my job, that is God’s job to have the answers. My job is just to trust in the One who holds me in His hand and hides me under the shadow of His wings. God has a plan so I have assurance.

If you don’t have all the answers, ask God to take over and help you to stop questioning every single thing and just trust Him.

 Discussion Questions:

1. Jonah resented God’s Plan because it didn’t fit his plan.  Have you ever done that? 
2. What can we do this week to align ourselves with God’s plan?