“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Tom and I recently returned from a trip to a conference in Springfield, Missouri. I usually try to take time to reflect after a conference and try to grasp what God may have been saying to me through the time. I journal and think and try to grab a truth or two. Well, here’s my takeaway from this one: There is nothing random in God. If I believe that God knows all and sees all and that God has a plan, then even the things that seem random to me are not random. And if they are not random and are part of God’s plan, then how I respond is important. Still working on that one!
Even trips to Starbucks are not random! When we arrived Tom had posted on social media that we were in Springfield and our niece, Katie, saw the post and reached out to Tom because she was also in Springfield for some training. We planned to meet for lunch on the second day. How awesome and unexpected! The next morning, we found a nearby Starbucks and went to get coffee before the conference began. It was early! We ordered and I looked around at the few people there with their laptops, drinking lattes and working already as the morning sun filtered through the blinds. I noticed a young lady by the window intently working as we waited for our drinks to be prepared and then turned back to face the counter. A minute later that young lady was standing behind us and turned out to be Katie! We were able to sit and chat for a few minutes before we all headed over to start our day.
But that’s not all! We had our lunch with Katie the next day and the following day we stopped back at the Starbucks before heading out of town. As we got out of our car to go inside and order Tom said to me, “There’s Katie!” And there she was with her coffee, getting into her car and talking on the phone. We greeted each other and she put her phone on video chat so that we could say hi to her mom in Spain! The whole interaction only lasted a few moments, but what a bonus blessing! If I believe that God is in control then that bonus blessing was a gift from Him, right?
Yep! Even trips to Starbucks are not random.
Diversions are inconvenient but temporary. On the way home, we experienced another unexpected event. Our flight was diverted to Chicago because of weather-related issues in New York City. All the city airports were temporarily closed to incoming flights. So, we found ourselves sitting at a gate at Chicago Midway airport waiting for some instructions on what was going to happen next. We waited for the airline to tell us how we were going to get to our destination. We waited for seven hours, and the airline never gave us any instructions other than to wait. No one ever came to confirm the rumor that our flight would resume on the same plane at 11:00pm. On a walk around the airport, I noticed that the flight information screen confirmed that our flight to LaGuardia was now scheduled for 11:10pm. At least that was some confirmation!
The hardest part for me was not the waiting at the airport. It was waiting at the airport without really knowing what was going to happen next. At first all I wanted to do was try to find out what the plan was, but eventually I had to let it go. The thing I did know was that the airline would get us to our destination eventually. And they did. We finally made it to our door at 5:00am the next morning, but we were home.
If I believe that God is in control and that my final destination is heaven, then whatever diversions I experience on earth are only temporary. I know where I will end up and I can let go of trying to figure everything out! Diversions are inconvenient, but they are temporary.
There is a plan, even if I don’t know what it is. Waiting at the airport, not knowing the rest of the story was hard. It seemed like most of the passengers handled it pretty well. We all knew we would make it home eventually. Even though the airline didn’t handle communication well and we didn’t know what was going to happen, somehow, we knew that there was, or at least there would be, a plan, even if we didn’t know what it was.
I heard once that just because you can’t see God’s plan doesn’t mean there isn’t one. This was one of those times. The airline did have a plan, even though I couldn’t see it and it wasn’t communicated and I have to believe that God had a plan in all of it, too, even though I still can’t see what that was.
Isn’t that the hardest part of following God? Not knowing His plan? So many things seem random in life and in the world. Is God really in control? If I believe that He is, then nothing is random, the bonus blessings and the inconvenient diversions are all part of the plan I can’t see. So, when I can’t see the plan, I have to trust that there is one, that there are a multitude of factors that I am unaware of and that God is somehow working for my good and His glory in all of it.
So, what about you, Dear Friend? Have you experienced some inconvenient diversions lately? Or maybe some bonus blessings? Whatever it is that you have been going through, there is a plan and there is nothing random. God really is in control!
Key Thought: If God is in control, then nothing is random.
A Scripture to Consider: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
A YES Challenge: Think back over your last few days. What seemed to be random? How did you respond? What would you do differently if you believed there was a plan?
Prayer: Lord, You continue to remind me that You really are in control. If there is nothing random, then how I respond when things don’t go the way I expect is important. How I respond becomes an expression of faith in You. Forgive me for the times I have missed that. Help me to remember that just because I can’t see the plan doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Help me to accept the diversions as well as the bonus blessings as gifts from You. Amen.