For the Planner

Planning. We all do it. We plan our days out with what we need to do and what we should eat that day, that week, every minute of every day.

Although I've yet to be as organized in my life as to plan out my meals, I am such a planner. In college, while I was an RA for freshman, our staff was told to fill out a StrengthsQuest test. In my top five, one of my strengths is that I'm futuristic. Which is completely accurate because I've been planning my whole life starting as young as when I was 8 years old.

When I was 8, American Idol came on and I knew that year that I wanted to be a singer and possibly audition to be on that show one day. When I was 16, I was determined to be a music teacher. When I was 18, I "knew" that I was going to find my husband in college. When I was 21, I was planning on moving to San Diego.

Absolutely nothing has gone the way I planned (though I still have a chance at American Idol, now that it came back [; ). And why should it have gone my way? I was planning a life that I believed was fit for me. Where I thought I knew best and where I was determined to make it happen.

Newsflash! I'm not God. Though, if I'm being completely honest, I definitely pretended to be for a time. I never asked if my plans were of God's too. I never even questioned that what I wanted in life was what He planned for me. I just assumed it was okay for me to have planned those steps of my life because I was going to praise God in everything I did, anyways, right?

Well, yes...that can be true. No matter what is set out for us in our life, we should be glorifying God in everything we do. However, I, being a mere mortal, am planning events in my life that almost always fall short of what more God has for myself. And, everything that He's planned out for me, I could never have even dreamed up! Everything that God has given me in my life has been so much more than I could have ever asked for and more than I ever wanted.

Let's look back at the biggest plans I had for my life (excepting American Idol): 1. I thought I wanted to be a music teacher, but God gave me a job working in opera - a passion I never knew I had until my junior year of college. Teaching, I figured out, was not a passion of mine. God gave me something I didn't know I wanted! 2. I thought I was going to be married by now or at least be in a serious relationship. I am so glad that I didn't find my husband in college. Not necessarily because the men weren't "good enough" but because I certainly wasn't mature enough emotionally or spiritually to be in a relationship. 3. I thought I was going to move to San Diego, but now (at least for the time being), I can't imagine my life outside of San Antonio! God has given me such a wonderful community and church that I've grown to love and cherish and if it weren't for those people in my life (Christian and non-Christian), I wouldn't be where I am now in my walk with God. And, although it's been difficult for me at times, it is so good.

God's plans are good and they are perfect. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), the go-to verse about His plans for us (and for good reason!) says this, "'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.'" God would never give us something that we wouldn't want to do. He might tell one person to go move to Greece and be a missionary, and then He might tell another to stay put where they're at and proclaim His Name in their workplace. He's only going to tell someone to do something if their hearts are willing to obey God's calling and follow His will, and if it's something they want and desire.

Another verse says this, "Delight yourself in the LORD; and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4 ESV) If we have our hearts and minds set on God, He will in turn give us the desires of our hearts. He will not plan something for you that you don't want. He may give you something you didn't know you wanted, but every time, we find that God knows us better than we know ourselves and He always comes through to give us what we need, even if it doesn't always align with what we want. And most of the time, what we need turns into what we want.

Two songs came to mind as I wrote this blog post.

The first comes from a song that has been my go-to song when I need to remember that God's plan for me is better, even if it may not seem like it at the present. The lyrics, from "Better Plan" by Ryan Proudfoot, that I cling to, are this:

"Lord I know You hear me

And what I need, You give me

And if you don't then maybe

You must have a better plan."

The second is from a song that actually just came up on my Spotify Discover playlist this morning! It's from Sean McConnell's "Beautiful Rose":

"Well, I heard you could make God laugh

By telling him the plans you have

...

Praise the Lord, there's something more than

What we think we're fighting for

Just think what we'd be missing

If we only got what we were wishing"

How wonderful of a truth that God's plans are better than what we could ever wish for in our lives!

If you are a planner and a futuristic thinker, take hope in the promise that God's got you. He's watching over you and He's got a plan just for you. Planning out your life isn't necessarily a bad thing, but just remember to always include God in your plans and ask Him if it aligns with what He has for you. (I'm telling this to myself as well. I have to remind myself of this on a daily basis!)

But, most importantly, don't worry about your future, because God's known about your life since before you were even born, and the plans He has for you? Boy, is it good.

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Planner shown below: My Infinite Agenda