Live It!

When things don’t go as planned…you’re normal.

I’ve heard people say that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

We map out our lives, sometimes in great detail, often forgetting that we have no control of our future. We can’t even guarantee our next breath.

If I have to blame someone besides myself for this faulty perspective, I blame our modern society. Everything is insured: our money, our vehicles, our technological devices. Kids wear helmets for almost everything but coloring Easter eggs. As parents, we hover. We avoid danger, physical harm, psychological suffering. We seek comfort above all.

That’s my take. I know there are many people who embrace risk and accept the consequences … and often the freedom it brings. Most of the time, I’m not one of them.

But I have experienced times when God has given me a swift kick in the pants (figuratively, of course) to get me past my fear of risk and the need to control. He has prepared me for new challenges coming my way. Or new opportunities.

I need to trust Him more to guide me. After all, He knows my future. “…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” Psalm 139:16.

So, when things don’t go as planned, I want to lean on God, who knows the end from the beginning. I want to risk within His guidance. I want to live in freedom. Because, you know, there is one thing that is guaranteed, and that’s my eternal life.

Join me in living life to the full, instead of hiding from pain and the unknown. Trust in God and live.

“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ ” Jeremiah 29:11.