When Plan B Becomes Plan A

Does it really stress you out to make specific plans only to see it all fall apart?  I certainly used to be that way.  I think that’s because in my mind I figured anything I planned or thought out was a good thing and it needed to happen.  I’m sure I never perceived the hubris in this:  that basically I knew best.  

Sara Matheny reported to us recently that the director of the program they oversee in Burkina Faso was not going to get to come to America this year due to Covid-19.  They had been excitedly making plans for Dramane to visit the Sheltering Wings supporters in the US, and I’m sure Dramane was looking forward to this trip.  The final comment from Sara struck a chord with me.  “When his trip to the States to meet you was cancelled, he accepted the news with such grace and faith.  Plan A rarely works in his world, so he was ready to lead us in trusting the Lord in the face of disappointment.”

Proverbs 19:21   “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”  Dramane has already incorporated this concept into his thinking.  That’s why he can be gracious about accepting the setback. The second half of that verse is what gives peace and graciousness.  It’s the acknowledgment that God knows best.  I can plan and work and attempt to foresee what needs to happen, but I am so limited.  And my purpose may not even be the best thing, even though I think it is.  But God’s purpose – I can trust that.  I can put my faith in that and relax.

When some plan goes completely awry, we can rethink the situation.  I can acknowledge, “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea but I just couldn’t see it.”  Or “Maybe there would have been some unforeseen disaster down the road if we had gone down this road.  I can accept a redirection from God.”  Or “This may have been far more than I could handle had it panned out, and God is looking out for my best interests here.”  

We think Plan A is best.  Plan B is often a letdown for us, a poor substitute for what SHOULD have happened.  But Plan A is our plan.  If it doesn’t work out, we need to be open to the idea that Plan B may be God’s plan, and in that case, it moves up to Plan A!  Then we can remember:   “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23