Do you make plans? Of course you do! Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “It is in the heart of man to make plans, but God directs his steps.” Poet Robert Burns said, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Why is this? If God designed us to make plans, then why don’t our plans always work out? Part of the reason is that we make our plans based on what we know, but God knows the big picture.
I remember one Christmas when we lived on the western edge of Illinois. We planned a great gift and holiday celebration for our son and daughter and their families, who lived near Chicago. We reserved accommodations for them, and ourselves, and my 90-year-old stepmother who lived with us, at a water park resort in Wisconsin. The night before we were to drive up there, we all loaded gifts and food into our cars so we could get an early start the next morning.
We knew snow was expected, but in western Illinois it turned out to be a huge blizzard. We got out on the road, despite freezing temperatures, horizontally blowing snow, and poor visibility, and headed north. The snow was blowing from west to east. Many overturned vehicles decorated the ditches along the icy roadside, but we kept going, expecting travel to be easier once we turned east in 25 miles or so. However, after 10 miles the Highway Patrol stopped us. They had closed the road, and we had to turn back.
God did not direct our steps to an alternative route, so we went back home. Needless to say, we were greatly disappointed. Where our kids lived, the weather wasn’t so bad. They had no problems getting to the resort and had a great time.
However, during their first night there, a water pipe broke in the room where my stepmother would have been staying, and the room was flooded. This was the only ground-floor bedroom, and she was unable to “do” stairs. I don’t know what we would have done. There was also a problem with an electrical outage.
If we’d known ahead of time what was going to happen, we would never have made those reservations, but then our kids would have missed out on a fun time together. So, although our plans “went awry,” God knew what He was doing when He put it on our hearts to make them.
If you would like to hear Bible-based teaching about the God who directs your steps, come and visit us at Charis Christian Church, 4811 E. Julep St., Suite 101, in Mesa