Your Plans May Change but God Never Will

Ever been here: you have a major event coming up. So you plan. You prepare. You make your list and check it twice. No detail is left undone. Then, in a moment’s notice, everything changes. Circumstances force a change of schedule. Suddenly, it makes no difference how hard you worked. Everything is on hold.

For the past two and a half weeks, I’ve been hard at work preparing to begin videotaping my Legion Bible study teaching series. The open door to begin filming was a huge answer to a long-awaited prayer. Production was scheduled to begin tomorrow. Then ... lightning struck. Literally. Overnight, hundreds of fires broke out from one end of the state to the other. Between the smoke and risk of evacuation and/or power outage, the video producer and I realized we had no choice but to nix the scheduled video shoot.

As difficult as the decision was, I knew there were people dealing with far worse: homes threatened by fires, first responders battling the blaze. As I was praying today for protection over the homes in harm’s way, the firefighters—and for rain (it seems impossible to see rain in the middle of a heatwave, but I am asking anyway because God is the God of the impossible)–as I was praying, I lamented over all of the devastation: the homes in danger; the lives at risk. Then my mind went to all of the people suffering because of the pandemic—this, on top of the economy being hammered by lockdowns. It all seems so overwhelming.

But then I remember: we have a big God. We can trust He is working—even in the midst of all the chaos that is swirling around us. Jesus said,

“My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (John 5:17 ESV)

And so I found myself praying for revival—for hearts to turn back to God in the midst of all the chaos. To seek Him when all seems lost.

If we put our hope in this world: whether in our health, or home, or a 401k, things can change in a moment’s notice. It is times like these when we are reminded that there is only one true, everlasting hope–and it can only be found beyond this world. In this life, nothing is guaranteed, but God is the “same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” When we put our hope in Him, we will never be disappointed.

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” (Psalm 39:7 ESV)

If you are facing a difficulty, here are some favorite passages I turn to in difficult times:

• Psalm 91 (when in need of comfort or reminder of God’s protection)
• Romans 8:31-39 (when in need of courage or perseverance)
• Ephesians 1:3-14 (when in need of an eternal perspective)

What are some of your favorite ‘go to’ Bible passages?

Copyright © 2020 by Shadia Hrichi, author of LEGION: Rediscovering the God Who Rescues Me and HAGAR: Rediscovering the God Who Sees Me. Used by permission.