At Sea

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

We are in the waning days of summer and that leaves me with a longing. It has been two years now since I’ve been to the beach and I miss it so. Any time I need to calm my mind I imagine being on the beach. At times, the waves rushing over in a continuous revolution can have one imagining they can feel the world breathing. In. Out. In. Out. To me it can be so soothing. Interestingly enough, the ocean is also what I imagine when I am in chaos.

I am an analytical person by nature and I function best when I have a plan. Few words unsettle me more than when my husband and I are embarking on a new endeavor, and he says, “Let’s just wing it.” For him this concept is freeing, but for me it means death to my inner peace. Funny how we can be drawn to our opposites to challenge us, and yet sometimes upend us. When I hear those words or know there is no plan it sets me on a turbulent sea, with no horizon to gain my bearings. Not knowing which way to head to find solid ground, I’m lost and in turmoil. I realize that my need to have a plan may seem like an attempt to control the situation, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be my plan for me to have peace. That is why I am so grateful to know that God has a plan for me. I may not know how that is going to map out; but if I follow where He leads, I don’t feel lost at sea.

This reminds me of a cruise we took for our 20^th wedding anniversary. Venturing up the eastern side of the Caribbean Isles, there was a day we spent at sea. I had a spa appointment for a massage and facial. While in the salon, a storm had kicked up outside. Huge swells beat against the ship leaving the crew and passengers to weave with the rise and fall. You would think this made it hard to find peace as the technician occasionally steadied me on the table to keep me from rolling. Yet, I trusted that the crew and the captain had a plan for steering us through the storm, and I remained calm.

I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalms 57:2

Having confidence that the Creator of the universe has a plan for you can give you strength beyond understanding. I will admit that my analytical mind can’t imagine all the variables that will come against the plans that I make. This causes stress in the moment something derails the plan and until a new solution comes. God has no such problem. He holds all the variables in His hands, and as such all His plans work out.

That being said, I will put forth the contradiction. While God can have a plan for your life, He has given you the free will not to choose that path. As humans we can hear “God has a plan for your life,” look at the mess around us, and scoff. “If this is His plan then I don’t want any part of it,” would be the response. However, if we have made no effort to pursue that plan then is it not your own path you’ve actually been walking? This isn’t to say that your life will be all sunshine if you are following God’s plan. Often you may hear, “God wants me to be happy.” He is a good Father who wants good things for his children. Yet, He hasn’t called us to live for what makes us happy; serving our flesh. He has called us to live for what makes us holy and trust that the fruit of that will be far better.

Jesus was laser focused on fulfilling God’s plan for his life. I’m sure he had times of joy, but there was hardship and conflict as well. We see Jesus’ own turbulent sea experiences; literally, when he walked on the water to his disciples in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Then an internally turbulent sea on the eve of the fulfillment of God’s plan for his life. Jesus was in the garden asking if God could have this moment pass, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39) Despite the internal waves, knowing he was fulfilling God’s plan gave Jesus the strength for what was to unfold.

God’s plan for us may not always be big, but it will be for our good and be kingdom work. Maybe it’s a job change where you take a pay cut, but you’ll be advancing a mission. Maybe it’s a move that plants you somewhere you are most needed. Maybe it’s being called to write and travel doing public speaking even though the introvert in you wants to pull a Greta Garbo “I want to be alone,” and shut myself in my home. Whoops! That one got close. Yet, being sure that His plan can’t fail, I can walk with confidence in who He says I am. His!

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. Hebrews 10:35-39 NLT