God's Plan

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Do you ever make plans that just don’t work out like you had imagined? Circumstances of life challenge our best plans. Personally, I have had those days when I expected things to go smooth and things turned out quite the opposite. On the other hand, I have had those days when I thought things were going to be difficult and things went smoothly, as if there was someone orchestrating the events.
What we must learn is to place our plans in Gods hands. We must seek to live our lives beneath His guiding hand. When we honor Him in our actions we will always have a righteous result. When we yield ourselves to God as instruments of His choosing,  and conduct ourselves within the perimeters of His character, we can expect God to orchestrate all things for our good. Let’s take a look at a familiar passage of scripture as an example.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬
This scripture is often misquoted and misapplied. So many people, including the blatantly disobedient, claim this scripture about every circumstance of life. They will quote the first part of the verse “God works all things together for good” and apply that to their lives. I believe this to be a misinterpretation and misapplication of the context. The whole verse must be understood within its context. Making a text fit our lives without proper context is pretext. This creates a false understanding and leads to a misuse of text. Look again at the verse.
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬
There is so much more to this verse than the words “God works all things together for good”! In fact, those words aren’t the exact quote. “And we know that God works all things together for the good” is correct. However, the verse isn’t complete without the words “of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them”!
Now, in light of the complete verse, we see that God orchestrates the affairs of those who love Him and are His called ones. This is very specific. We cannot simply claim this verse without the qualification of it.
Do we love God? Truly and genuinely? Are we His children? Are we seeking His purpose in our lives?
We cannot make foolish choices, live haphazard lives, chart our own course of life, and expect our plans to lead to a godly result. Yes, God, in His mercy and grace can steer us back onto the right path. Yes, God can take our mistakes and transform our mess into a message. What we must not do, however, is live a careless life and expect God to work everything for our good. Choices and actions have consequences. If we want the best of God’s will for our lives we must commit our thoughts, words, and deeds to Him. As we yield ourselves to His sovereign Lordship He will take everything and utilize it for His purpose.
As we make our plans in pencil let’s be sure to understand that God has the eraser. Even in our best planning, there is the element of human error. Only God can oversee our plans and guide us successfully along this road of life. He is the one who makes plans that no man can usurp. His directions are perfect and precise.
Let’s not just make our plans. Let’s make our plans under the guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to lead our way.
Do you have a GPS installed in your life? A God’s Plan Sensor? We all sure need it!!