Plans In Pencil

Proverbs Daily is a reader-supported publication. All posts are free, but all donations help spread the message. When you see the word “upgrade,” you’re simply invited to help me make the sacred positively contagious…thank you in advance for becoming a free or paid subscriber.They had a plan. But what happens when history changes the calendar?The leaders of Mexico's independence movement were preparing to rise. Then the conspiracy was exposed. Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez got word to the others, and before dawn on September 16, 1810, the bells rang in Dolores.The plan changed. The purpose didn't.Now, I'm not trying to shrink an entire nation's costly struggle into a cute devotional illustration. The road to independence stretched eleven years and carried decisions we shouldn't casually stamp "God's will." Real people suffered.But this part is worth sitting with: responsible people make plans, and wise people know plans are not gods.Proverbs 16:9 says in the New International Version:"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."Some of us pray, "Lord, order my steps," then get mad when God touches the itinerary.We want divine direction—as long as it agrees with our calendar, keeps our reservations and doesn't reroute us through anything inconvenient.Truth is, sometimes we don't submit a plan to God. We hand Him a completed contract, point to the signature line and call that prayer.But Proverbs doesn't condemn planning. Planning is wisdom. The problem is treating our blueprint like it's final.James says, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." That's not passive language. It's surrendered language. Make the plan. Do the prep-work. Sow the seed. Just leave room for the One who sees farther than you do.And listen: a changed route doesn't automatically mean you failed to consult God. Sometimes you missed Him. Sometimes somebody else's choice affected you. Sometimes life just happened. And sometimes the redirection is the very way God establishes your steps.That doesn't mean every outcome carries God's moral approval. And it doesn't mean we rename indecision "faith." Trusting God with our steps still requires us to move our feet.It means we hold the purpose tightly and the route loosely.Maybe the erased line isn't proof you missed God. Maybe grace is meeting you in the redirection.So write the vision. Make the call. Build the plan.Just use pencil.🔥 REMEMBERHold the purpose tightly and the route loosely.🙏🏽 PRAYERGod, establish my steps when my carefully drawn plans change.🎯 TODAY’S CHALLENGEChoose one plan you're gripping tightly. Write the purpose beneath it, then name one alternate route that could still honor that purpose.About the AuthorFred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch📱 Experience Proverbs Daily by Subscribing!Ready to receive daily wisdom directly on your phone?Go to proverbsdaily.org for the app or just click that Subscribe button right now![Image goes here] Get full access to Hey Fred Lynch! at heyfredlynch.substack.com/subscribe