Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21 NIVUK

Feels like I’ve had to do a lot of apologising recently.  Lots of hospital appointments, lots of things changing at the last minute and lots of rearranging to do.  All of these things have put a strain on us and sometimes we crack.  We’re short with each other and with those who are making plans on our behalf.

Of course these things happen and they’re usually nobody’s fault, but they can leave you feeling like you’re not in control of your life anymore.

Being out of control has been a bit of a theme of this whole process for me.  Whether I’m physically unable to, or whether plans are being made for me, I’ve had to accept that most of my circumstances at the moment are beyond my control.

We all like to make plans, know what’s happening today, next week and even next year, and when things don’t go to plan we get frustrated and we can feel like the world is against us, or even worse, we blame God.

Of course it’s necessary to make future plans, nothing happens if we just passively let life pass us by. But it’s impossible to be in control of everything.

Being forced into a position of losing control, you realise how much God is in control anyway.  Also how much we rely on him every day whether we realise it or not, even down to the very air we breath.  Every day we have is a gift from God.

We do, of course, have choices, but as this verse says “God’s plans will always prevail”.  This should in fact be of great comfort to us when plans change beyond our control.  Our job is to position ourselves to align with God’s purposes. This may involve us letting go of our own will and surrendering to his.

I’m trying to be more intentional about this.  I guess that’s easier to do when so much of life feels out of my control anyway, but aligning ourselves to God’s purposes is a far better place to be.  God is with us, he is our biggest advocate and “he has plans to prosper us not to harm us” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Jesus also teaches us that we will be fruitful in all we do if we abide in him.  He said ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5 NIVUK)

Losing control is not about losing our personal responsibility, it’s about aligning ourselves to God’s will and his perfect purposes for us.  This only happens when we spend time with him, the very thing Jesus’ life, death and resurrection made possible.  This should actually be very liberating for us.  It should free us from the burden of feeling like we need to get everything right and gives us a Godly perspective when things do change or go wrong. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1 NIVUK)