I recently heard something interesting about airplanes that I’ve never EVER heard before. At any given moment, an airplane may have to go off its intended flight path…Not WAY off from what the original path looked like, but some variance in the original plan is to be expected.

There are all kinds of reasons for this deviation – weather, turbulence, wind, air traffic, to avoid a specific airspace…whatever the reason, some shift in their flight plan is to be expected because of all the things that could possibly happen on the way to their destination…all the things that could affect their ability to stay exactly on course they planned.

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The main thing is, of course, that the pilot and the plane both know where the plane will take off and where it will land, but getting there to that final destination may look differently than originally anticipated.

The pilot and the plane know the starting point and the ending point.

They know their home base and their destination.

Regardless of the groundwork done by the pilot.

Regardless of the directions from the air traffic controller.

Regardless of the information set in the GPS of the plane.

The plane may have to take a different route to get to the destination than they intended.

Sound familiar?

I’d say this flight plan scenario is a whole lot like life.

We make plans,

We plan our future,

And even plan our days minute by minute, but they don’t always go like we’d thought they would.

In fact, I’m going to take a wild guess and say that around 99.5% of the time, things don’t go as any of us want/intend them to go. This could be something as simple as spilling something on your brand new dress on the first day of school OR it could be something as big as a health scare.

The only reassuring part of this whole thing is that plans HAVE been made for each of our lives.

A path has been set…just not by us. By God.

Proverbs 16:9 – The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:1 – The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

What exactly does this mean for us?

It means plan away, set that path, set goals and even achieve them..but be prepared – things may not turn out quite like you thought they would.

Sometimes, it means things go in a very different direction than we anticipated they would.

Sometimes it means we’re disappointed, surprised, and even frustrated.

Sometimes it means we just flat out don’t get what we want, but –

SOMEtimes, it means we get so much more than we ever imagined possible that we’re literally in awe.

Sometimes miracles happen.

Sometimes things we least expect in life come together for us.

Many fruits of the spirit come into play when our life is being directed by God and Godly things –

A whole lot of patience, an extreme amount of faithfulness, and a HUGE amount of self control. Trust the process is always a phrase that comes to mind when thinking of God’s plans and his time compared to our own.

Now getting there is another story. Although you don’t know what this life will look like or the steps you’ll take to be all that God intended you to be, he does. You may have twists and turns you never expected, you may have to experience things you’d rather not, you may even have to do things you never imagined in a million years you’d do, but regardless, if you can be still long enough to listen and follow his lead, you’ll get there.

Just know that unlike the path of that airplane, your path is not directed by the weather or a restricted airspace – your path is directed by the one who knows YOU,

the one who knows what’s BEST for you,

the one who is protecting from sights unseen and events unknown by you,

and the one who loves you more than anything in the world – so trust him.

Even when it doesn’t go like you planned.

God knows where you started, and God knows where you’re going…and even if you don’t know how you’re getting there,

He does.