Many are the plans of a man...

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." - Proverbs 16:9

This is one my favorite verses in Proverbs. It reminds me that I can plan and plan, but ultimately it is God's plans which will stand in the end. Take the past few weeks for instance.

We planned on selling our house quickly and moving to TN together. God planned for us to not sell quickly and for me to move to TN first, leaving my family back in IL.

We planned on sending our kids to public school in TN while we looked for a home. God planned for the kids to stay in IL while we tried to sell our existing home.

We planned on sending our kids to public school in IL until we found a permanent place to live in TN. Then the kids would go to school in that district. God planned for us to consider other options that would enable us to be together as a family sooner.

We planned on homeschooling our kids beginning the second week in August so we could at least live together in TN until things were wrapped up in IL. God planned on bringing a potential buyer to our home which might delay the start of homeschooling.

I planned on driving back to IL next week to help with the family move. I even rented a car. God planned for our potential buyer to want to move in soon, which means I may have to go back to IL on a different date.

You see the pattern? We plan and God plans. Guess which ones always happen. Guess which path we always take. It is God's path, and it is always a good one. Does that mean we quit planning? Not at all. We continue to be responsible for our lives, paying bills, clothing ourselves, working hard, all the while knowing that our plans depend on God's bigger plan.

I think our family has really learned that there are no plans we can, or need to, hold onto in this world. God will take care of us no matter how we plan to provide for ourselves. So now, as we wait to hear back from our potential buyer about his offer, we continue to change our plans and adjust them to God's plan as it is revealed. The wonderful thing about God's plan is that it never changes. It is set from eternity past.

God is like the map and the destination on a GPS. Those things never change. As I take the road to the destination, I might have to recalculate as the course changes, take an alternate route around an unexpected delay, get stuck in traffic for a while, but the final destination is still there, unmoving. When will I arrive? How many u-turns will I have to take? I have no idea. All I can do is keep moving towards the destination God has planned for me and worship Him once I arrive. That is the joy of the Christian who trusts in a sovereign God... knowing that "the Lord establishes his steps."

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