When I think I’ve figured God’s plan out, I get really excited about it. I’m not very good at concealing positive emotions. Any emotions, actually. Forget the sleeve. I wear my heart on my forehead.
And that’s good. I think God wants us to be excited about the things He’s doing in our lives. But there’s a difference between being excited and trying to take over.
A wheat field before a storm at Safe Haven Farm, Haven, KS
Today’s verse is Proverbs 19:21.
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
I probably shouldn’t post about this because it’s work-related, but it really made me think. So I’m going to anyway. My office got word a few weeks ago that we will be moving locations at the first of the year. We’ve been in a really iconic building in downtown Wichita for a number of years, and it was decided to move to a different downtown location with more space.
Everyone is really excited about it! Where we’re moving is a little newer too, and it’s a beautiful building.
Well, yesterday we got an email asking people not to go try to visit the new office location. Apparently some folks were so excited about moving that they tried to get into our new office space to look around. I’m guessing it’s folks who want to scope out the layout and lay a claim on where their desks will go. Or it could just be curiosity. I won’t deny I thought about trying to get in and look around. That’s why I laughed so hard about it, I think.
The email that went out made the comment that we don’t have the right to be in the new office space until after the first of the year due to safety issues and other considerations. And the first thing I thought of was how often can we say that same thing about God’s plans in our lives?
So many times, God reveals bits and pieces of His plan for us, and it’s really easy to get excited about it. After all, God’s plans are always exciting. But the more excited I get about what God is doing, the harder it is to keep my hands off.
I’m a control freak. I want to be in charge. I don’t like being in charge, but I stress less when I at least know what’s coming so I can prepare. But God doesn’t work like that. He wants us to remember that He’s the one in charge, and we have to trust Him. But does that stop me? Not usually.
Before I know what’s happening, I’m sneaking into a new office space that I haven’t got a right to be in, trying to stake a claim on an office area that I have no say about in the first place (no, I wasn’t one of the people who did it).
God knows all the ins and outs of His plan. He ought to. It’s His plan. And we get the opportunity to play a part in it, but that doesn’t mean we can grasp for control of it. And the more we try to control it, the more foolish we look.
I mean imagine how silly people would look wandering around that empty office space talking about which office is going to be theirs. They don’t know that for sure. At this point, we don’t even know what floor we’re on for sure. So any sort of declarations or planning is useless.
What has God revealed to you about His plan for your life? Is it exciting? Are you excited about it? Great! Hold on to that. Don’t lose it. Be excited! We don’t have enough true joy in our lives, and if Christ-followers actually got excited about what God is doing, maybe more people would understand how awesome God is.
But just because you’re excited doesn’t give you the right to try to take the reins from God. Believe me, you don’t want them. Trying to take the wheel when you don’t know where you’re going is just going to cause trouble and confusion and frustration, and that can only delay God’s plans for your life.
So stop interfering and let Him work. It’s tough, I know. But trust Him. God is the only one who can handle the reins of your life, so leave the driving to Him.
Always Peachy 