When I was thinking up a title for today’s post the one above popped into my head almost immediately. It’s actually a popular Jamaican saying that sums up today’s topic quite well. 🙂
Have you ever had big plans for your day, an event or even your life and then had these plans not go quite the way you hoped, or even fall apart entirely? This has most likely happened to all of us and it can be quite frustrating to say the least.
You had already envisioned how things would turn out and how much better life would be as a result, but it seemed no matter what you did or how hard you worked things just didn’t quite come together the way you imagined they would. “Why is God punishing me!” you ask yourself.
And therein lies the problem.
It’s very easy to forget that since God is in control of everything, He knows which plans to facilitate and which ones to thwart.
Because we lack that pesky little thing called omniscience (knowing all things), we can’t possibly know all of the effects our plans will have and so it’s quite possible that there is some negative consequence of our actions that He is sparing us from. This could be a minor mishap, some devastating accident or (just as dangerous) an inflated pride which can not only destroy your life but the lives of others around you too.
In other words when God prevents your plans from working out it probably because He’s showing you mercy.
In an article on DesiringGod.org, Jon Bloom talks about why God destroyed the Tower of Babel to save the Mesopotamians from their biggest threat at the time – their own pride.
You see like these ancient people, our plans are often rooted in the glorification of self, not God. And this may just be what He’s protecting us from when He thwarts our plans. Here’s an excerpt of the article…
We often do not know what we are really building when we embark on our achievements. We often aren’t aware of how deep, pervasive and motivating our pride is. We often are blind to how much we cherish the glory of our name. But God knows. And in mercy he confounds us, impedes us, and humbles us. And it is all mercy.
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).
So the next time things don’t go “according to plan” ask yourself which plan ? Then pause for a moment to be thankful to God because as He says in His Word…
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11