What's the Plan? ~Devotion~

I wrote a devotion about a month ago to be shared on Hannah's Prayer. It didn't get read very much there, so I decided to share it here as well.

What’s the Plan?

My family loves to get together, but things are often left unorganized until the last minute. It seems I find myself asking them “What are we going to do? What’s the plan?”

In your own life do you ever find yourself wondering what the plan is? I’ve wondered that many times. I remember one specific time that I asked God. I remember it so clearly, that while it was 10 years ago, it’s as clear as if it were yesterday. I was 19, and my first love had just broken up with me. I was devastated. I was so sure he was the one I was going to marry. I could barely get myself out of bed in the morning. I was on my way to work, and cried out to God, “Please! Just show me how this is going to turn out.” My reasoning for this request was simple. If I knew how it was going to work out-one way or the other- I would have the strength to get through it. I got an answer to my request. It just wasn’t the one I wanted.

God laughed at me. I heard Him. He laughed. Not the mean hurtful laugh of one relishing in the pain of another, but the very opposite. It was a warm gentle chuckle as He softly said “And just how much faith would that take?” It’s taken years for those words to really sink in. If I had all the answers, if I knew the plan, how much would I really lean on Him?

I know what MY plan is. But His ways are not my ways. He has a much bigger plan for my life than I can even begin to imagine. We’ve all heard that, or something along those lines countless times. As difficult as it can sometimes be to hear, it’s true! I love Jeremiah 29:11, this is The Message translation.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-- plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

“I know what I’m doing.” How can you argue with God when He says that?? When I think about God’s plan for my life though, I can get pretty self-centered. After all, it is His plan for MY life. I often forget though that He has a lot of plans He’s coordinating. With that thought I’m reminded of an illustration I once heard when I worked in youth ministry.

A lady was working on a project while her grandson was on the floor playing with toys. He looked up several times to see a needle pierce the cloth. Her steady hand pulled the needle from below in one place, and pushed it back up through he cloth in another place. Every now and then, she would clip the string and choose another color of string, and begin stitching again. The boy looked up and saw a bunch of crisscrossed colors and tattered strings . He wondered why she would spend so much time making such a mess!

So finally he asked her. “Just you wait,” She told him. So he continued playing and she continued stitching. Finally she called him over, lifted him on to her lap to see a beautiful tapestry. She explained that from his view below all he could see was the messy underside, but from above she could see a work of art. Each of those stitches was necessary to make the whole picture come together.

Oh the countless times I’ve looked up to wonder why God was making such a mess out of things! Now just try to imagine the beautiful masterpiece He’s creating, weaving our lives together, in tragedy and triumph.

Romans 8:28 NIV
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Something to think about. How much would you lean on Him if you knew the plan?