When God Plants Our Feet Far From Our Plans

I’m writing this as I sit out my days in quarantine with my family. Thankfully all of us have had mild symptoms. We’ve also discovered some hidden blessings–a slower pace of life and more intentional family time, playing games and doing puzzles together.

While there would have been worse times to catch COVID this year (my sister's and cousin’s weddings, a trip to visit my grandma who has never met Luke) there certainly could have been better times, like when I didn’t have a long-planned trip overseas quickly approaching. On November 4th I’m supposed to get on a plane to Kenya to teach a class at a local seminary and visit Pastor Sam and Amos Omia. But because I could still test positive for COVID even after recovering, I may not be able to go. I won’t know until I take my pre-travel COVID test. Pastor Sam is working to find a backup teacher, and we’re all praying for God’s will to be done.

The possibility of my cancelled trip has me thinking about Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps” (NLT). This is true all the time, but we usually aren’t aware of it until we see God is planting our foot far away from where we intended to walk. Initially our reaction is to fight back, push, pull, whatever it takes to get our foot on the path we’d planned. But it’s no use; God directs every step. I’m sure you’ve experienced that; I’m sure you’ve had your own version of planning to go to Kenya, but waking up in Utah.

More and more I’m convinced the gap between our plans and where our foot lands is so common because the criteria we use for our plans is often different from God’s criteria. When I take an honest look at my own heart, I see how much of my planning is wrapped around what is easy, what makes me look good, what is comfortable, what is enjoyable, what I want to do. These things aren’t bad–it’s completely fine to do something because you like it–, but they are not ultimate. When our plans are threatened, we can whip up five more noble-sounding reasons to justify our anger.

But God’s decision tree is different from ours. He doesn’t ignore our desires, but he does have deeper ones. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 says, “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”

I’m struck by the gap between my motives and God’s, the distance between where I planned to go and where my foot actually landed. If I’m honest, I rarely make decisions based on how much something will help me grow in holiness. Rarely am I willing to sacrifice what is easy, comfortable or pleasurable (even if it’s not bad) for something else that will help me grow in godliness. Have you ever said no to a job because it paid too much, and you know that you struggle with greed? Have you ever accepted an autoimmune disease because you know you're prone to mistrust God when it comes to your health? Did you ever welcome infertility because of how it forces you to see the sufficiency of Jesus? Embracing the hard things is tough; we rarely do it. If we have such a struggle just to eat healthily, how could we ever choose what is holy, especially when it hurts?

This isn’t to say Christians should become masochists for the sake of holiness. But we shouldn't fight so hard against God when he moves us far from our goal. His plans are best for us even if they aren’t what’s most pleasurable for us. The next time you find your feet far from where you’d intended, consider giving thanks; God is fulfilling his plan to make you holy and whole. One thousand years from now, that will be so much more valuable than a trip to Kenya, or retirement plans, or clear medical diagnoses.

Where do you see him directing your feet far from where you’d planned? Remember: God is good, and he’s good even in the minute details, down to each step of every day. So I may not know where my foot will land this Thursday night, but I can know that it is the best place for God to continue working to make me holy and whole.

In Christ,
Pastor Jon