Can You See It?

Most of us have seen the meme that shows the difference between God’s plan for us and our own plan. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may remember that I’ve posted about this meme before in Trust the Promise. I firmly believe this depiction is a bit turned around, but there are so many who heartily agree with what the meme implies.

It’s true that our plan involves a nice, smooth ride. God’s desire for our life is a nice, smooth ride as well. But then the evil in this world needs to be factored in (this includes our own dumb choices). While we all want the smooth ride for our life (God does, too), it’s often far from what we experience. Let me take you back to my high school days…

I was an A-B honor roll student until my sophomore year. Sure, this is probably true for many out there. High school happens, hormones get hyped up, emotions run rampant, and suddenly you’re barely scraping together a report card with C’s. I was definitely in the emotional category. At this pivotal time in my life, I was looking at a new home without my mom and brother. It was the family, but only operating at 50% capacity. We had overcome obstacles before – operating at 100% or even 75% capacity – but now it was weaker than we’d ever experienced.

Was the separation and divorce God’s plan? According to the well-intended meme, it definitely seemed like a valley, a rocky road, an insurmountable climb, or a stormy sea. Our hearts were broken. We started questioning who we could trust. Our emotions were raw and on the surface. Needless to say, I decided to make choices in and out of school that I normally would not have made. I decided. I planned. I brought heartache and turmoil on myself. It wasn’t God causing evil. God didn’t orchestrate a marriage falling apart, a family split down the middle, and He didn’t want 4 of His kiddos to be hurting. God planned, we planned, and sin, in or around us, helped toss those plans to the wind.

A great deal of what contributed to my teen-years-gone-wrong was that I had no picture, no vision, of what my future held. I had grown up with my future holding a family united, but it changed to a family divided. What did that look like? What was in store for me in the future? I could barely get through a semester, and I was being asked what my 5-year plan was. I found those plans laughable and started getting pretty sarcastic in my responses. How can we plan for 5 years when the future we’d always counted on was destroyed?

Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. Proverbs 29:18 NIV

I certainly did a bit of casting off restraint. Some versions of Proverbs 29:18 use the word vision in place of revelation. I had no vision of what lay ahead. I couldn’t picture anything but division and abandonment. I had nothing that I was aiming for, never had a target in my sights, so there wasn’t anything but aimlessness. Sometimes we have to mature and grow up before we can appreciate the value in things like making plans for the future.

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:5 NIV

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” Luke 14:28-30 NIV

My husband and I have been discussing plans. Picture vision board creations, tweaking plans, taking steps toward achieving specific goals, and praying over them and for wisdom in implementation. We’re husband and wife, but we have different ideas, different strategies, and different strengths. It would be detrimental to our future as a family if we were working against each other. For example, if we’re not on the same page with our finances, we could be a paycheck-to-paycheck household, always struggling to make ends meet.

We have to be a team, we have to work together, and we have to be sensitive to what God is directing us to do.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3 NIV

I don’t want to make plans and not yield to the Holy Spirit’s directions. I tried doing things my way for far too long (so long it’s a bit embarrassing) – it seems that so much time was wasted. As a side note, God doesn’t waste any opportunity. Even those years that were squandered and directionless He has been able to use. Often in expressions on this blog, in conversations with others about my life, and even in the process of how I reach decisions now. He can (and does) use my mess for His good and is bringing beauty out of the ashes (Isaiah 61:3).

The importance of my plan and my husband’s plan meshing pales in comparison to the importance of being in line with God’s plans. Interestingly enough, as you seek God, His plans become your desires.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 NIV

I can imagine that builders, like the ones Jesus used in His story in Luke 14, sat down and drew up plans. As a bit of time went by, they might look at those plans again and see ways to improve them – make them more cost effective or efficient. Once they were satisfied with the plans, they would calculate the cost. The steps of drawing the plans, tweaking the plans, and calculating the cost are all deserving of prayer.

My husband and I are being purposeful in our vision board. Right now, we’re envisioning our house plans, specific successes in our businesses, financial growth, and praying for ways to further God’s kingdom. We want to be reminded every day of what we’re aiming for whether it’s a 5-year plan, fewer years, or a longer journey.

Do you have a goal you’re shooting for or a picture in your mind of what you’d like in your future? Do you trust that God’s plan is even better, smoother, and safer than what you could ever plan or accomplish by yourself? Our house plans have 4 bedrooms, over 2,500 sq ft, a garage apartment, and we want a minimum of 5 acres… but what if God is saying Why only 4 bedrooms? Don’t you want a finished basement as well? Five acres are not nearly enough for what I have for you… Why do you ask for so little?

What if God’s best is greater than we could ever imagine? It goes back, again, to who we see God to be. Does He cause our path to become a jumbled roller coaster of uncertainty and anxiety? Or does He delight in the prosperity of His people (Psalm 35:27)? We’re really okay… It’s a lot to ask of God… He might think we’re greedy if we ask for more… Does God want His people – His ambassadors (II Corinthians 5:20) – to be poor, destitute, sick, and always borrowing from any number of lenders?

This is not a name-it-claim-it post. For too long, there has been a belief that to have any kind of wealth is wrong or evil. This includes the wealth of joy, fellowship, being healthy (being healthy will automatically make you wealthy these days), and even having a smooth, problem-free life. Having our vision board meshing with God’s plans for our lives means we need to understand His promises He made to us (II Corinthians 1:20).

We can continue to see God as someone who thwarts our plans, sends us into valleys, and causes us to struggle through life… Or we can search out His promises for our lives, rest in the assurance that He has good things for us because He is a good, good God, and come into agreement with His plans for us. Let’s get so wrapped up in God that our vision and His vision are the same.