What to Do When Life Doesn't Go According to Plan

by Debbie Taylor Williams
www.debbietaylorwilliams.com

Author of:  The Plan A Woman in a Plan B World; Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion; If God is In Control, Why Am I a Basket Case; If God is In Control, Why Do I Have a Headache?; Prayers of My Heart, and others.


Do you have a great idea for a book?  Has God stirred your heart about a topic on which to write?  Do you have the perfect title?  If so, congratulations!  You may be on your way to writing the next best seller.  But what if you walk in a bookstore and see the title already on the shelf?  What if you have the book, but not the “speaking platform” required by many publishers?  What if another author steals your idea and sells the book you thought God had given you to write?

Let me assure you, all of the above can happen.  Our best Plan A can quickly fall through a crack.  When that happens, what can we do?  What should we avoid? 

1.    Recognize that our worst nightmare may be the crucible from which our most inspired writing comes forth. 
2.    Fall on your knees before God.  Praise Him as Sovereign God.  Praise Him that He knows the plans He has for you and that they are good.  Confess your trust in Him and His best for your life.
3.    Seek God’s will and how He wants you to move forward. 
4.    Acknowledge that God’s ways are higher than yours.  Trust Him.
5.    Defuse any “land mine” thoughts that could maim you and your relationships with others. 

Land Mines to Defuse
1.    Bitterness.  The number one cause for depression is anger.  God teaches us, “Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity,” Eph 4:26.  If anyone had a right to be angry for being wrongfully treated it is God the Father and Son.  When our plans as writers fall apart, it is not the time for us to fall apart.  Rather, it an opportunity for us to work out what God has worked within us:  Christ in the Holy Spirit.  Carefully and cautiously we must take hold of the bitterness in our heart and hold it from us, as we would a poisonous snake.  “Do not give the devil an opportunity.”

2.    Fixations on the Past.  As writers, we can forlornly look at what “should’ve been, could’ve been.”  Rather, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,…” Heb 12:2.  In others words, we must recognize how looking back can be a land mine.  Certainly, Lot’s wife would warn us, “Don’t fixate on the past.”  You may not turn to salt if you keep looking back, but your heart will certainly become hardened if you don’t keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.  

Are there disappointments when plans don’t go as we expected?  Of course!  However, God still has A+ plans for your life.  Seek His face.  Defuse dangerous land mines in your mind that can harm you, others, and the cause of Christ.  Experience the good works and plans God has for you.