Yesterday I was dealing with city bureaucracy and ran into a snag.  I had expectations of a different outcome, but it did not work out that way.  Often we have dreams, goals, or expectations that we want to see come to fruition.  We do our best to make plans, and to determine our next steps, and often end up with something different.

     Proverbs 3:5-7 says,

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.  Do not be wise in your own eyes.

When we begin to determine our path, or our next step, we need to be as connected with God as possible.  We don’t often consult or ask God what the next step should be.  Instead we depend upon our own wisdom and intellect.  God wants us to rely upon him.  After we have spent time the time to create a plan or outline a goal, we can get attached to what we want the desired result to be.  We must leave the results to him as well.

       Its not that we are to disregard our intellect, or current circumstance in making a plan, obviously God has given us a brain, but we need to be praying and seeking God as we lay them out. It is normal for us to have a desired result and to proceed by faith, yet at the same time we need to be willing to put it all aside, and go in a different direction, if God asks us to.

     What do you best laid plans look like?  How have you spent the time putting them together?  What outcome are you looking for?

Picture: Floor_Plan, by Andrew in Raleigh