How do we respond when something doesn’t work out?
We had plans. Had it all worked out. It had to happen the way we planned. How could it not? I mean God is the one who brought us here. God has made so much fall into place. This is the final piece. Of course it’s gonna happen.
Then it doesn’t.
What do you do?
Well I don’t know about you, but I was pretty hurt when it happened to me, and then that hurt quickly turned to anger. The justice-seeking warrior inside of me had a list of reasons why this was so wrong! I went through the list one thing after the next. How could this not come through? How could it not happen?
Then I felt it. The gentle nudge on my heart. The prompting to dream. To hope. To…trust.
God’s words came to my mind. “I have a plan for you. To prosper you and not to harm you. For a hope and a future. Just trust me…”
I thought for a moment…God if you brought us here. If we took this leap and stepped out before the waters parted then surely you have a plan. I know we thought we had it under control. I know we kept telling ourselves it was you, but maybe it was us trying to make this happen. We still took the leap, but we tried to fill in the missing puzzle pieces ourselves.
And here we are. We can make a choice. Wallow in our disappointment. Stay angry and assign blame, or let go. I choose to let go. And suddenly I sense the excitement of adventure. Again… for the first time in a long time.
There’s something over the horizon. Just past the place where we humble our hearts, and choose to obey this crazy prompting to keep moving forward.
God has been bringing back to life the cold, hard, winterized heart inside of me. Recently I have seen new life. New hope. Tiny sprigs of green breaking though the rough dry surface reaching for the warmth of the sun. Believing for life. For fruit.
It’s too late for the nasty winter to try to steal me back. I have tasted and seen of the goodness of God. I have started to feel alive again. Death, you’ve lost! I choose to believe for more. I choose to trust. To hope. To keep moving forward knowing that God has planned my next step and the one after that.
So I surrender. I let go of my plans and grasp onto yours, God, with all that I’ve got. I know you won’t disappoint. Your plans are so much greater than anything I can imagine. I can’t wait to step into the purpose you have for me.
If you're going through the same thing or have been going through a season of "winter," this song is a great one to sing out as you choose to stand and fight!
Love,
Jenna