this wasn’t my plan

One thing I’ve been realizing a lot lately is that God’s plan often looks different than what our plan for ourselves looks like. To be honest, it wasn’t my plan to start this blog. When God first gave me this idea, it was during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but I brushed this idea aside. At the start of my senior year of college, I felt God putting it on my heart again. I started creating the website, but when it came to writing the words, I put it aside and didn’t follow through. I felt like I was too busy with applying to graduate school, my classes, and work, but God has a sense of humor, and He was being persistent in placing this idea on my heart. A few months ago, I felt like God was leading me to follow through with this idea. I was praying about it, and I had not realized that I was being disobedient to God in not trusting Him with the God-given idea He had given me. Once I spoke with a mentor about this idea, it confirmed even more in me that God is behind this. Isaiah 14:24 says, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen”. Nothing can stop the plans that God has for your life.

I think a lot of people have similar situations where God leads them to do something that they would have never imagined for themselves. This is especially true for me when trying to find the right path to go down with my career choices. When I graduated high school, I truly had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I heard a lot of people say, “If you care about people, go be a nurse”, and so that’s what I did! While I agree that nurses are very caring people, that’s not the only career option for wanting to make a difference in people’s lives. It became very clear to me that I was not cut out to be a nurse; I should add that hospitals make me feel anxious and that I absolutely hate the thought of blood. Looking back, it’s hilarious that I thought I wanted to do nursing. I switched my major to elementary education after that, still having no clue what I actually wanted to do. I toured other schools, applied to different programs, and thought of every career BESIDES counseling. I didn’t want to go to school for more than four years, so I limited my options until I found a wonderful professor who I discussed my passions with. She encouraged me to try out the Human Development and Family Studies major, and I fell in love with it. Now, I have graduated with my undergraduate degree and am starting my master’s program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the fall.

Looking back, I can see God’s hand in all of it. However, in the midst of so much confusion and uncertainty, I had no idea what God’s plan was. I was so set on my plan of going to school for four years and then starting my career that I didn’t understand how God’s plan didn’t align with mine. Now I realize that God has given me the passions and the desires of my heart; it just looks a little different than what I expected it to.

Whether you can relate to the struggle of trying to find the right career choice for you, or you have other times where you felt like your life wasn’t going according to your plan, I’ve found that God will take you through each season of life that you’re in as it comes. He will equip you with what you need to get through that season, even if it looks different than what you expected. Maybe you got a difficult diagnosis, are going through a divorce, or unexpectedly lost a loved one. You didn’t plan for these trials to come, and it might leave you feeling lost and confused.

Here’s three things I try to remember when my life doesn’t go according to “my” plan:

1. God has a plan and a purpose for my life, even when it seems like my life is falling apart and not going according to my plans that I created for myself in my mind. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose”. This reminds me that despite times of uncertainty, God has plans to bring good out of the difficult situations in our lives. This reminds me of when I was taking some tough science classes in college. I struggled in biology, so I sought out additional guidance often. I regularly attended tutoring sessions and supplemental instruction which helped to prepare me for the exams. That biology class, although one of the most difficult, was a class I did better in than some of my easier classes. Because I sought help and clarity on topics, I had a greater understanding of the topics. I think that life can be the same way. Even the most difficult situations that we go through can bring us closer to God and show us more of who He is. Even when we don’t know what the plan looks like, we can trust that God will help us to endure them and to grow closer to Him through those times.

2. Trust in God means fully surrendering the plans I created for my life to Him and allowing Him to use me as a vessel for His good. This does not mean I can try to control my own life which I so often try to do. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths”. In the midst of unpredictability, we have a choice to trust God or not. If we trust God, He will give us the direction and guidance we need to continue through difficult times.

3. God is for me, not against me. When I remember that God is on my side and that He wants me to prosper, I can’t help but be reminded that my own plans are not always what is best for me. Although in the moment it is difficult to see, having confidence that God is for me gives me a sure assurance and hope that He has better plans for me than I have for myself. Perhaps God is protecting me or preparing me for something that I never could have imagined, and at the time, it can cause me to be frustrated, but looking back I am able to see all the wonderful ways God orchestrated my life according to His plan and not mine and I am thankful for that.

Since God is all-knowing and all-powerful, He sees the greater picture. Whether God has different plans for me because He is giving me time to prepare my heart for a difficult season, teaching me different life lessons, protecting me from something that could have harmed me, or preparing me for a better plan than I could ever realize, He is always for me and wants the best for me- even when it’s hard to see that in the moment. That is true for each of you reading this today. Let’s lean into the truths that we do know; God has a plan and purpose for our lives, God is for us and not against us, and trusting in God can give us rest, direction, and guidance in the midst of frustration and confusion. He is the only constant in our lives, so let’s choose to remind ourselves of the greater plan He has, even when it looks different than what we thought it would.