"Rearranged Plans"

"And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt".  Numbers 13:17

When things don't go according to your plans, when appointments are changed, when you are delayed, when a meeting is cancelled, how do you react?  What type of attitude do you get?  Most of us get frustrated, angry, critical, mad, anxious, worried or irritated.  Is this the attitude we should have if we are a born-again Christian?  What should our attitude be?

We say we trust the Lord, but do we when our plans seem to be "rearranged".  The Bible says that the Lord directs our steps.  We either believe this or we don't.  If we do, our attitude will be different then the one I described earlier.  If He is directing your steps then instead of getting angry about a canceled appointment maybe it means that you didn't need to go.  Instead of getting frustrated because traffic delayed you from getting to a meeting on time, maybe it was God's way of protecting you from an accident that morning.  Recently, my husband was to have a medical procedure.  We made the early trip out of town to the hospital.  We filled out all the paper work.  He was prepped for the procedure.  Then the doctor came in and said they weren't going to do it that day we would have to reschedule it.  Honestly, it was frustrating.  Making the trip unnecessarily was an inconvenience.  We felt like the time was wasted, etc., etc.  But later we discovered that the reason things were delayed was because they may have done a procedure on him that was not necessary.  Because when we had the test later, all was fine. 

Someone shared with me recently, that things didn't go the way they had planned concerning some repair on their vehicle, so they had to make other arrangements.  They discovered later that it was a good thing that it worked out like it did because it made them aware of a problem with their vehicle that could have caused an accident.  (Hind sight is always 20/20.)

You have all heard numerous stories like this-- and you have had your own similar stories.  Delays that worked for your good.  Interruptions that prevented you from being hurt.  Cancellations that put you at the right place at the right time. These things aren't just happening to us, they are happening for us--- for our good, on our behalf. 

So the next time you are tempted to get a bad attitude over things not going according to your plan, stop and thank the Lord that your steps are directed by Him and He is leading them down a perfect path whether you can see it as such or not.

Have a great day.  Rearranged plans don't just happen to us, often God is behind them working them together for our good.   

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from

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