And it is still good.

Five years of blogging for "His Purpose, Not My Plans" and somehow the title still startles me a little every time I see the page.

Perhaps you think by now I have a really strong understanding of the concept that the Lord's plans are better than mine and I never doubt Him.

Alas, I'm here to tell you that I do not, in fact, always grasp that concept well.

But Alana, you may ask, how? why?

Because, my friends, I love set boundaries and limits, and being in control, and assuming that I know how everything is going to play out.

And, in the spirit of vulnerability: I really, really, love to think that I know always best.

But here is the shocking, hard, cold truth. I don't always know best.

I am consistently shocked when the Lord doesn't do what I think He should do.
He pushes past the limits that I have set for Him, He puts people in my life that I don't think should be there, throws me into situations I don't think I should be put into, and as a result I doubt His goodness and His plans.

A perfectly laid out plan. And then something happens and *poof* that plan is gone.
And I doubt. We doubt.

We doubt and we forget that our God who "changes plans on us" is the same God who created the universe.. the sun, the ocean, the animals, the plants, the mountains, and everything in between, all in His perfect plan.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light... And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place and let the dry land appear.' And it was so.. And God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit.. on the earth.' And it was so. And God saw that it was good."  Genesis 1:1-12

We forget that our God who "doesn't want the best for me" is the same God who can see our hearts intimately and knows the number of hairs on our head.

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether." Psalm 139:1-4

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than more sparrows." Luke 12:6-7

We forget that our God who "doesn't know what I need" is the same God who has provided again, and again, and again for us in the past.
And who is faithful to provide again for us in the future.. even when we it's not as we expect Him to.

Off the top of my head I can think of four examples in the past couple years of when the Lord has changed my plans, and yet still provided for me.
And every.single.time. His plans have been better than anything I could've imagined.

Oh friends, the Lord has no limits to His plans.

He is not bound by location, or time frames, or hardened hearts.
His limits are not our limits.

And though I often get frustrated when the Lord replaces my plans with His plans, I remain confident in the fact that when I don't fully understand what He is doing, I can rest in the knowledge that the He does.

He is certain that His plans are perfect because He knows exactly how they will play out.

He knows that His plans are good because He promises in His word that things work together for good for those that know Him.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28

Does that mean we always see His plans as good?

No. 

Losing your job, being diagnosed with cancer, going through a natural disaster and losing everything. Those are all things that do not seem good and may never make sense.

But you know what is good?

The fact that the Lord's plans stretch from far before our time to long after our time, and that my life and your life are interwoven into hundreds, thousands of others' lives in ways we are not able to see on this earth. 

It is good to know that "all things working together for good" does not necessarily mean working for good on earth where we can see them.

It is good to rest in the knowledge that He has pulled me out of misery and despair and because of grace through Jesus I have hope in a beautiful, perfect eternity.

It is good to rest in the knowledge that the Lord is sovereign. He is wise. He knows all.

And it is good to rest in the knowledge that His purpose, and not my plans will guide my future. 

It is good indeed.

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the Lord's purpose that will stand." Proverbs 19:21

Example of the Lord's plans being better for me than my plans: Two Januarys ago (2017) I was panicked about summer internships. Had a "perfect" plan, and then the Lord took it from me and I was devastated. Two months later He provided an internship for me at First Pres in Columbia. Which turned into a job.
Which eventually turned into four of the dearest friendships I have ever had ^see above. Friendships not possible without the Lord changing my plans into something so.much.better.