When Things Don’t Go The Way You Planned

I recently planned an out of town trip with my family to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. Excitement filled the air that week and I even worked one of my regular days off so that I could have a three day weekend to enjoy the festivities. We had spoken to family members and told them we’d be visiting. Our plans were in motion and we fully expected to have a blessed time.

Then something happened the night before we were supposed to leave, the Holy Spirit started tugging at my heart and a warning stirred within it. We weren’t supposed to go.

Ughhh…it was so last minute. I loathe breaking plans last minute but this warning was loud and my spirit was unsettled. I voiced my concerns to my husband and after praying together and discussing it with my daughter, we decided to call off the trip.

So, instead we decided to book a hotel room just outside of town so that we could make use of the resort pool for the weekend. My daughter was pleased and we sighed with relief. Chilling out poolside during our excruciating heatwave sounded like the perfect way to let loose. We settled in so that we could get an early start the next day.

Plans Go Awry

The next morning I woke up with a sore throat and a choking cough. I hoped it was nothing more than allergies so I took an antihistamine and we went on with our day.

Shortly after breakfast I knew that the day would be a struggle. I felt fatigued and my cough was getting worse. Oh no. Not now Lord.

I struggled internally and prayed that I would feel better in some miraculous way but deep down I knew, there would be no weekend by the pool for me. Instead, I would need to rest at home.

I accompanied my husband and daughter out to the resort along with her best friend and we allowed them to celebrate my daughter’s 19th birthday together at that lovely pool in our stead.

The ride home I felt a little deflated and I was surely disappointed. Of all weekends my body decided to catch some bug, it had to be this one. My husband was looking forward to swimming and it made me feel bad that our plans had been totally upheaved. I still invited him to stay and swim but he insisted on staying with me (what a sweetheart).

I wish I could tell you that I woke up feeling better the next morning but I actually got worse. This time I couldn’t even go on the trip out again to pick up my daughter. In bed I stayed, all weekend.

Disappointment When Plans Are Interrupted

Perhaps you can relate to this little story of mine because you have been there too. We probably all have.

We make plans, get our hearts set on something, and poof! Just like that it’s gone.

The example I give above is something that is recent so it instantly pops up in the forefront of my mind. But the truth is there are worse things that have happened and this can be a bit of an analogy to when big plans of mine have fell through.

In the past I would have thrown a tantrum of sorts and looked for something or someone to blame. Yes, embarrassingly enough this is how I would react when plans didn’t go my way.

Now you can say that I’ve learned the lessons about reacting that way. I’ve had to learn it the hard way. After tears, apologies, and shame for the way that I had behaved, I would finally come to realize that it wasn’t the end of the world.

Things are different now. I’ve learned to take notice when God interrupts my plans and now I rest in knowing that He has the best intentions for me. It has completely changed my perspective to know that even in the midst of disappointment, I can feel relief that He was saving me from something that could possibly be worse.

Diverted plans can be blessings in disguise. God will sometimes avert us so He can protect us. Share on X

The Silver Lining

It is true. Being sick is an inconvenience and broken plans are unfortunate but something happened when I took ill. I was grateful for the warning the Lord had given me beforehand.

Imagine if we would have continued with our out of town trip and having to deal with being sick on top of the packing and long drive? Believe me, I was counting my blessings that the Lord spared me from that disaster.

He had also orchestrated it to happen when I already had time off from work so that I could rest. That is another reason to count myself blessed.

And so it is with other times that God interrupts our plans. What may seem like an inconvenience at the time could merely be God saving us from the disaster down the road.

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?

Proverbs 20:24 NLT

Trusting God When Things Change

More often than not it’s the big plans that get interrupted, not just the weekend trips.

We might have plans mapped out for our entire life. What schools we’d like to attend, what careers we want. Where we want to live, and how many children we’d like to have. We may even have expectations about how our marriage and friendships will play out.

We set up expectations for ourselves and how we’d like certain situations to play out. Sadly, expectations are rarely met. But that is where trust comes in.

When we trust that the Lord’s plans are greater than our own and we allow our own agendas to be surrendered, that is when we thrive. We can be content with what comes because we know that God willed it a certain way for a reason beyond our understanding.

Trusting in Him means we can finally let go of the expectations that we place on ourselves and that are placed on us by others. We have the freedom to make plans but trust that ultimately He will direct our steps.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

When You Face Disappointment About Interrupted Plans

My friend Diana from Diana’s Devotionals wrote a phenomenal post about when God interrupts your plans and how to respond. She not only shares about a time when God interrupted her plans but she also shares some very encouraging verses about God’s intentions for us.

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