Sometimes, life doesn’t work out how you think it will.

I know, I know. “Sometimes? Megan, what are you talking about? Life never goes how I want it to go!” That’s what you’re saying, right?

I can’t deny that. We rarely make the same plans as the ones that end up playing out in our lives. I know that’s true for my life. Let me be completely honest. If things went the way I wanted them to go, I would be married by now. I would also have a flourishing career as a fiction writer and a fan-base in the millions.

I’m not there yet. Am I still working toward it and praying about it? Sure! Do I still want all those things with every fiber of my being? Absolutely! Just because it hasn’t happened exactly the way we planned, doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

This happened to so many Bible characters that I can’t even discuss them all in this blog post. But I do want to point out a few very specific ones, so that we can all feel better about our lives.

Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

Genesis 15:4-5

First of all, do you think Abraham thought this would take so long? I mean… a lot happened in the years after God made this promise. Abraham took matters into his own hands, Ishmael was born, there was the whole Sodom and Gomorrah thing… That’s just the highlights. Do you think Abraham’s plan was to wait that long to see God’s promise come true?

Yeah, me neither. But you know what? Even thought Abraham messed the whole thing up, God’s promise held firm and came to pass. Let’s not think that we have no hope because we haven’t seen the promise yet.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”

Ruth 1:16-17

Okay, let’s be real. Ruth didn’t know what she was getting into, but she bore it with determination. I doubt that her plan for her life included losing her husband in the first place. Let alone being scorned and bullied all because she was loyal to her mother-in-law.

Ruth is a perfect example of how God works even when our plans get interrupted by the war of life. How many times do you think she regretted her decision to make that vow? Do you think it was easy for her to go glean grain and live with nothing? No! But God made a way. Let’s not believe that we’ll be stuck in this one path or this one level forever. God is bigger than all that.

No matter what we face or what life throws at us, we stand firm. We believe that God is God, and he will bring his promises to pass. We believe that we will see the goodness of God in the land of the living!

So what’s your stand today? I’m on your side, so throw me a paragraph about where you’re at and what you’re expecting. We love comments around here!