“Well, that didn’t go well,” I muttered to myself walking out of the interview for a teaching position. God’s plans had moved us down here, but I had fumbled my words and was not forthcoming about my accomplishments. The interview team’s attitude read “not interested.” We were moving, and I needed a teaching job. I had two interviews, and I needed one to work out. The pressure was on me.
I’m sure whatever God planned, I had just blown that opportunity. God’s plans, in my mind, were easily adjusted based on my ability.
But that’s how I always do it.
Time and time again, I make the story all about me and what I need to do. I put all of the weight on my shoulders, and despite what I know to be true, I don’t let anyone else take the burden. Not even the Almighty himself sometimes.
And so, I feel like I have messed up God’s plans when I put everything on the line and realize I didn’t do something right or I forgot to do something entirely. And as a result, I am immediately crushed because I feel like God had this awesome plan…that I totally blew up.
I internally worry that I have changed the trajectory of God’s plan for my life.
But guess what?
Eve bit into the fruit, Adam shared in the eating of the fruit, and they both looked at one another wide-eyed. Surely, they thought, we have just blown God’s plans. It was just the beginning of the story!! How could this have happened? Inevitably this misdeed would not throw God’s plans for a complete loop.
As I skim bible story after bible story where people heard God, ignored Him, and went their own way (only to be eaten by a fish ;)…one simple, but very powerful truth stands out:
You can’t mess up God’s plans.
Just like you can’t make plans for God, you also can’t completely mess up the work He has set out to do.
Do I insert a sigh of relief and just sit back and relax or do I continue to try to force events my way?
Every step is a process toward…stripping every hindrance and worry from our mind and (simply) following Jesus’ lead. Even when we hit our own deadlines, we are still growing in our faith, learning from our past mistakes, and taking our thoughts captive. God does not require that we love Him in order for Him to love us. And so He does not leave us alone in our own plans.
God places us in our current circumstances with responsibilities. And He gives us everything we need for living a godly life.
The end result isn’t always revealed on our timeline, but God gives us exactly what we need every step of the way. Just ask Him or look at other examples from the Bible.
When we feel like we have to move plans along, to give God a hint, to remind God what we want and the ideas we have on how to get there, there are many lessons to show that this does not work.
One illustration is when Sarah takes God’s plans into her own hands. She instructs her servant, Hagar, to sleep with Abraham. She thinks that she needs to do this because the prophecy that was shared with her and Abraham is not coming to fruition quickly enough. So what happens? What always seems to happen?
Sarah makes an unfortunate mess (Genesis 16). But God still blesses Sarah and gives her and Abraham a son, Isaac. All in order to fulfill God’s plans.
Another case? The disciples had fallen asleep, Peter denies knowing Jesus, and lo and behold, the intruders come. Scattering, the disciples fear they have messed up all the good work that had been done.
But the plans were perfect.
Jesus says, “But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me” (Mark 14:49).
Example after example of supposed mess-ups, and yet here we are. We are exactly where we need to be. We can’t have messed this up…and trust me, we have tried!
So many patterns in the bible where people have supposedly blown God’s plans, and yet, Jesus still came, he still died for our sins, and he rose again to give us eternal life and a relationship with God.
Time and time again, when we think we have royally messed something up, a miraculous thing happens:
We are “saved” from consequences or we are taken in a completely different direction than we think we should go.
Either way, we are right where God wants us, despite what we might think.
Blowing up God’s plans doesn’t mean taking the plans God has for us and making a mock-up of them.
Not only is this completely false, but it also can never happen. No. It means blowing them up for His glory. Using everything said and not said, done and not done, used and not used for His glory. God always has a plan.
Every sin we commit.
Every road we don’t take.
Every word we say in anger.
ALL OF IT can be used for God and His glory.
How beautiful and, even more, what a relief. When dwelling on our past, we might think of all the things we wished we had done differently, could erase or leave out completely. And yet, God has us exactly where He wants us.
He knows our past and the steps to get us to from where we are currently to where we are going next. We are in the middle of His will, the most perfect place we could be. As Corrie Ten Boom states, the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.
This does not mean that there will not be suffering, tears, or heartache, but God will be there. God IS there. I recently heard these words from the authors of Risen Motherhood that where life is most bitter, Jesus is the sweetest.
So, when we think we’ve done something “off-script” or we forgot to make a left turn and you kept going straight, we can rest in the knowledge that He is using EVERY part of our story for His glory.
And everyone said Amen.
Right in the middle of it, deep in the center of it, that’s where You’ll be found.
Your Turn
Questions to consider:
- Are you right in the middle of something that feels like a big-time fail? How can you remind yourself that God is using you where you’re at for His good? Romans 8:28, Psalm 33:11, Psalm 94:11
- Many of us have regrets that we wish had not happened in our life. Can you draw lines to where God has used this for your growth and for His glory?
