Whose Plan is It?

“I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.” —Jeremiah 10:23, NLT

I had been on a remote FOB (Forward Operating Base) for several days, and was ready to get back to my room on my base. I had called the movement coordinators the night before to make sure I had the right flight times, as well as finding out how early I needed to be in order to make sure that I would be counted for the flight. I was to show up two hours prior to the flight time. Any later than that and my name would be scratched from the manifest list and I’d have to wait for an opening on another flight. Before I went to sleep, I made sure that I had my plan put together: wake up, personal hygiene, finish packing, and walk to the helicopter LZ (landing zone).

Without a hitch, my alarm went off and I carried out my little plan. I was even an hour early to the LZ! Proud of myself, I walked up to the customer service counter and joyfully told the soldier there that I was present for my flight.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the soldier replied, “but that flight left two hours ago. In fact, all of the flight times changed last night. You will need to sign up for a Space-Available seat.”

“But I’m here three hours early…” I stammered as I signed up for a seat. My entire plan had been blown out of the water, and I was so close to success. Frustrated, I found a seat on a bench in front of the TV and waited. Then I waited some more. I thought about my carefully laid plan. It was perfect — except for the things I could not control.

Many times in life we feel like we are in complete control. We have manipulated, influenced, pushed, pulled and schemed ourselves into situations that we think are of our own making. We forget that there is a big God who loves us and knows what is best for us, even when we don’t. We forget that for all of our preparation, we don’t really have control of everything that is going on in our lives. As I sat (stunned at first, by the way) in the passenger terminal, I had a chance to review my not-so-perfect “perfect” plan. I was reminded that my life is not in my hands, but in the hands of God, who sees the big picture.

Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Despite our best planning, despite all that we think and prepare for, God has already planned out our course. He has already made all of the necessary arrangements. He has already pieced together the big picture. Our job is to be obedient to His leading, and He’ll work out the details.

Questions to share:

1. As you look back over your deployment, can you see any times that the Lord arranged a situation where you were able to help someone else?

2. What are some things you can be doing to make sure that you remain obedient to the Lord’s leading?