I am a list maker. I am a planner. I am happy with a pen in my hand and paper — any kind of paper — to make a list on. Things to get done, things for the grocery list, appointments coming up, bills to pay, people to email — there is just so much to remember.

Without my handy lists, I know I would be dropping the ball and forgetting all sorts of things. Also, who doesn’t just love being able to cross something off a list and have that wonderful feeling of accomplishment?

So my inner planner and list maker loved seeing how my new rheumatologist ran things in her office. Before patients leave, we check out and schedule our next appointment. At check out, we are given what they like to call a “honey-do list.” It’s a list of specific things we discussed in our appointment but might forget by the time we get home — instructions we need to follow, tests we might need, medications and how to take them, anything we need to do before our next appointment. It’s a planner’s happy place.

While I was in the waiting room for my last appointment, a woman and her husband stepped up to the counter to do her check out. They were explaining to them how the honey-do list works. The husband jumped on this idea quickly and voiced his concerns that he might be getting another list. “Joking, of course, ” he quipped. It got a laugh out of everyone in the room. A sweet husband worried about those wonderful honey-do lists.

We all may have our lists and plans. Our list making and planning may simply be about organization or an attempt at some organization, but sometimes it may start being more about control. We hope that God will get on board with our wants, our needs, our plans. We hope that He will work with our timeline.

But we all know the truth is that God is in control.

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

He knows exactly where His plans are going to take us. Even though we may think we have ours carefully planned out and thought through, His plans may look very different from ours. God knows our purpose. God knows our needs. What we need may be different from what we want. And that can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes.

We can plan all we want, but God will establish our steps. No matter how hard we plan, no matter if we think we have every detail figured out, we will still end up where God wants us.

So where does that leave us? What can we do?

We can now let go of that worry and trust Him, knowing we are not alone in this journey. We can now let go of that pressure, and we can focus on being present where He has us, knowing it is exactly where we need to be. We can now let go and fully embrace His plans for us, even when it means being patient for those plans.

But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands.
Psalm 31:14-15a (NIV)

God holds it all together. When we feel things are uncertain for us, God’s purpose remains certain. His plans will not be derailed. His plans will not be affected by anything.

His list for our days is perfect. He may be adding to our list; He may be taking things off our list; He may be rearranging our list. But no matter what, we can trust His plan is perfect. It’s His will, not mine.

Thank God that He has our list already prepared. Now we just pray for His help to complete it!

 

[bctt tweet=”When we feel things are uncertain for us, God’s purpose remains certain. -Jennifer Ueckert:” username=”incourage”]

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