THE PLANS OF MICE AND MEN… (When your plans don’t work out the way you thought they would!)

PSALMS 138:8: “The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.” NLT ‭‭ OBSERVATION: Have you ever been disappointed by the plans you have made for your life? When we are young we are all filled with great hopes and dreams. However, when we reach middle age we begin to realize that our pathway is mixed with a combination of unexpected twists and turns. Rarely do our original plans become the pathway of our life.

This is not to say that one should stop hoping and dreaming. The ability to hope, our vision for the future, these are both a gift of God. They are what propel us to take the next step in life. The balance to these hopes and dreams is learning to juggle reality along the way.

As the saying goes – “Even the best-laid plans of mice and men…”

Like the Psalmist, I can now say – “I was young and now I am old.” The benefit of getting older is the gift of perspective. As you look back over the pathway of your life you can begin to understand that what you once viewed as a disruption to your plans was actually the loving hand of the Father redirecting your path. This disruption is what led you to the next open door in fulfilling God’s plan for your life.

The difficulty is – no one likes disruptions. I still don’t like them! The gift of perspective gives balance but it does not remove one from disappointment. I am currently walking through one of those disruptions as I ponder on this Scripture. Perspective reminds me that God will be faithful. However, my humanity still struggles with the turn in the road. The plans I thought were before me have changed – once again! How do I walk through this – once again?

Praise God for His Word! My prayer this morning was – “Lord, when will I find Your open door?”, “Lord, when will You fulfill the vision You have given me?” And, then, as I simply continued in my daily reading and meditation upon God’s Word I found myself in Psalm 138:8 reading this verse,

• “The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.”

As I read this my spirit received some spiritual chiropractic. It is easy for our thinking to get out of whack. We need the loving adjustment of the Holy Spirit bringing our hearts and our minds in concert once again with God’s Word. It is as if I could hear the literal cracking and popping of my spiritual bones falling back into place as I read this verse.

The Lord is working out His plans for my life – not mine!

In reality, this is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus, Himself, taught us how to pray – “…Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We witnessed Jesus struggle with the same thing in His humanity when He prayed in the garden – “Lord, if there is another way, let this cup pass from me. Yet, not my will, but Your’s be done.” To struggle with the plans and pathway before is us merely to be human. To rest in His plan for our life is divine!

God does have a plan for each one of our lives. It is not what His plan is that is important. The important thing is how we respond to His plan. God’s plan is ultimately the best expression of His love for our life. This is why the Psalmist says – “…for Your faithful love endures forever.” In these words, we learn something else about His plan.

The Lord’s plan for our life is an eternal plan!

We struggle in life because we feel like we are under a time clock. Life is passing by and we still haven’t achieved…(fill in the blank). I remember when we used to travel to Florida to visit Disneyworld for vacation. It costs a lot of money so we wanted to get the most out of every moment we were there. This was really counterproductive because we were always aware of the clock and were disappointed that we were not able to get to a certain attraction. Now, living in Florida, we have a season pass. We come and go as we want. We have the entire year so there is no pressure. If a ride has a long line we say – “We’ll get it next time!” Lord – help me adopt this attitude to my life!

David had the dream of building a Temple for the Lord. Yet, this plan would not be realized in His life. It would be fulfilled by His son Solomon. Yet, David continued preparing for this plan, right up until the time he stepped from this life into eternity. Who knows what David is doing now in God’s heavenly kingdom! God’s plan for his life, and David’s plans, did not stop when he died – they just shifted gears into eternity!

Lord, this morning I needed to be reminded that You are faithfully fulfilling Your plan for my life. My call is not to struggle to make it happen. My call is simply to be faithful, obedient, and trusting. I need to rest in Your faithful love as You work out Your purposes in my life. Grant me the grace to understand that life is not an “E”-ticket but it is an eternal lifetime pass in Your love!

In Jesus Name!