Do you like to have a plan of action? My brain is always thinking several steps ahead. I don’t really know how to relax well because my happy place is being productive. If I don’t have a plan or a direction, I get frustrated easily. I need purpose. This doesn’t always help me follow where God would lead me because I am too busy listening to my own brain about what the next step should be. Many times my plans have gone all wrong, but ultimately I trust GOD has a plan. I have learned though that God NEVER does things the way I would have! You see he doesn’t seem to care if I approve of his plans, only that I will be made stronger through them. If I am honest I don’t always appreciate the process, but I still trust him and with each trial I have grown a little more excited to see what he is going to do through it.

I recently returned from my first mission trip. It was an incredible,
life changing experience in Kenya. Our team spent the entire trip being utterly, physically exhausted and yet ready each time we were asked to take on the next task. One of these times was about 8pm at night. We were informed by the leading organization that we would be solely responsible for leading a business seminar for the next 1 ½ days for the village that we had just adopted and spent five days building relationships with. My husband and I have each created and run our own small businesses for years. However, the rest of our team was a little less than excited to have this dropped in our laps after “leaving it all on the mission field” the last several days. But in that moment. Me. Myself. I wasn’t upset, truth be told I almost started laughing! I knew God had orchestrated things this way because HE KNOWS ME. I had desperately hoped to come and encourage a few Kenyan women in business. Now ALL the LEADERS of the village were EXCITED to COME TO US! If I had known weeks ahead of time, I would have spent EVERY moment researching business principles and writing out each word I would teach. I would have been CONSUMED by the responsibility of leading this seminar when I was spending time with them in the village. I would have missed the beauty of the relationships we built there. God knew ALL this about me. So he dumped it in our laps, so we had NO other choice but to trust the Holy Spirit to provide the content, the right words, and the people. SOMEHOW they fit 37 Kenyan village leaders in TWO mini vans to come listen to us impart every business principle we could think of for the next 1 ½ days. It was beautiful. They were encouraged and empowered. They networked and discussed challenges. I loved every minute of it. It was so much better the way God had it planned all along than if I had been in charge. God is so good. God is so much wiser than us about absolutely everything. We need to trust him and not get discouraged when things go “all wrong” according to us. God has a habit of making things all right…even from the ashes. Perhaps, especially from the ashes.

The peace from trusting him just cannot be fully comprehended. So stop living in anxiety. What are you accomplishing by worrying anyway? The answer is nothing. Just believe that he has a plan in all of it. It is so liberating. Truly! Quit listening to that little voice that is constantly questioning you or putting a bad spin on things. Why not be excited for what God is going to do through the trial. If he is allowing the trial, I truly believe he is going to strengthen you through it and use you because HE CREATED YOU CAPABLE!

Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”