When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned

When God Interrupts Your Plans

As said earlier, it is good to set goals and have a plan of action. Although this book may start off sounding like another self-help or formula-for-success book, it really isn’t. You will discover this as you continue to read. The best self-help and success you can ever achieve is found only in God. Luke 12:15 reads, “For a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Therefore, life is not about what kind of car you drive, house you live in, how much money you have in the bank, and so on. If all of your goals and plans are about just achieving things, then you’ve missed your purpose in life. As you are writing your plans, you must leave a blank page for God. What happens when God interrupts your plans and changes the whole course of your life? What happens when he leads you to go through the Red Sea? What happens when he calls you out of the norm into a place you have never gone before? What happens when he tells you to leave your nets (St. Matthew 4:18–22) and come follow his plan for your life? Man, in general, is success driven. He has a need for achievement and that’s good, but let’s view success based upon the Bible. Joshua 1:8 reads, “This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.” God has the master plan for true success in life. He knows what’s best for you. The Bible reads in Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart plans his way: but the Lord directs his steps.” The steps of a good man are ordered by God. What you want in life may not be what he intended for you. God always sees the bigger picture. He knows where you will be ten years from now. He is the author and creator of times and seasons.
As said earlier, when your plans meet up with God’s purpose, you are well on your way to destiny. The Bible talks about how Jesus interrupted Peter, James, and John’s career as fishermen and made them his disciples. This is how they made their living, but God had another line of work for them. They would take on the work of the ministry. What if God tells you to leave that $100,000-a-year career and live by faith without a set income? What if God tells you to sell all that you have and give to the poor and then come follow him? What if he tells you to give up this and give up that for the cause of Christ? What if he totally interrupts your agenda, your dreams, and your ambitions to show you his plans? What if God tells you to do what you don’t want to do, go where you don’t want to go, and love who you don’t want to love? Are you willing to obey his call upon your life?
I Wasn’t Expecting This

We talked in chapter 1 about having an expectation in life, but what do you do when the unexpected happens? How do you respond when things happen beyond your control? You may develop a terminal illness. Your husband or wife may walk out of the marriage. You may have to file for bankruptcy. Your child may get life in prison. You may lose your job. You may almost die in a major car accident, or you may lose everything you have. The truth is that the unexpected will happen from time to time in your life. Things are going to happen that you don’t have any earthly answers for. You can’t plan or prepare for it. It can happen at any given time. The best scripture that comes to mind concerning the unexpected is found in the book of Job. Chapters 1 and 2 talk about the bad things that happened in Job’s life. Chapters 3 through 41 talk about how he dealt with his unexpected troubles, and chapter 42 tells how God brought him out of his troubles. I encourage all of you to read the entire book of Job. It will bring you hope for your unexpected crises. Out of all the things that happened to Job, not once did he blame God for his misfortune. Job was a righteous man, but God allowed him to lose it all. The question is this: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” We all have asked the why question. Well, why did bad things happen to Jesus? Sometimes we blame ourselves for our troubles. There are times when we do suffer because of our disobedience, but sometimes God ordains our troubles. There’s nothing you’ve done wrong. Nothing just happens. God has a plan and purpose for what he allows you to go through. He had a plan for Job. His purpose was to make Job a living testimony of his sustaining and restoring power.
Throughout his unexpected troubles and trauma, God kept Job. Although Job did not understand the purpose of his suffering, he maintained his integrity. He praised and blessed God when he could have murmured and complained. God kept Job in perfect peace in the midst of a chaotic situation. I’m sure Job could have said, “My life didn’t go as I had planned.” Job never planned to experience all of this. It was definitely unexpected. He never planned to lose his possessions, his children, his health, and the faith of his wife. Unlike Job, how many of you have blamed God for your unexpected crisis, not knowing the purpose for it? Job cursed everything but God. How about you? When you don’t understand the purpose for something, you may be tempted to start blaming and accusing others. You may take your frustrations out on others, including God. Trust and enlightenment brings about an attitude adjustment. God had to enlighten Job by his Word. Job then said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job13:15). This should be your response to your troubles. Though you don’t understand, yet you trust and believe God for change. God has a purpose and a plan. His plan was to bless Job with twice as much as he had in the beginning. He gave Job double for his troubles. Sometimes God uses unexpected troubles to bring us unexpected blessings.