"A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps."
(Proverbs 16:9 WEB)
This reflection is taken from the book 'Daily Despatch: Bible Devotions for your Working Week'
God speaks to us through prayer, the Word or preaching, but he also speaks to us through the common rhythms of life, such as the chance comments of friends or strangers. At times, God will speak through unplanned paths: times when we find ourselves pausing or going somewhere we had not intended and know not why.
In Proverbs 16, God tells us that many are the plans we design in our hearts, but it is he who directs our steps. There was a season last year, when God encouraged me to lay down my working tools, to neither engage in work nor look for work for a season. As I hesitantly accepted this instruction, he began to show me that not only did I need to stop in seasons in order to be refuelled for his calling - the apostolic cycle of being filled, then poured out and repeat - but also that I had become too busy building what I thought should be built, that there was little room for him to construct what he desired.
If we are to journey as God intends, we must be open to his leading, making space in our lives for him to speak, intervene and move. For when the Lord meets us outside of our own plans, we can be sure that the path is from him and our direction secure. We can be sure that his plan is better.
In life, be ready to embrace the path you did not plan, so that you might discover the path God did!
Copyright © Sharmila Meadows 2023
The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible.
Do you think you might be clinging so hard to your own plans that you are missing God's better plan? Love to hear your views on unplanned paths.