When Your Day Doesn’t Go as Planned
When your plans fall apart, and life takes a turn you never expected, God hasn’t lost control. In this episode, discover how to trust God’s purpose even when your days and your direction don’t go the way you hoped.
When your plans fall apart, and life takes a turn you never expected, God hasn’t lost control. In this episode, discover how to trust God’s purpose even when your days and your direction don’t go the way you hoped.
Have you ever had a day go completely off script?
You plan, prepare, and set your expectations… and then life steps in with a detour you never saw coming.
In this episode, Bart shares the story of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose one-week mission on the International Space Station unexpectedly stretched into nearly nine months. Their return ride was grounded, their timeline shattered, and suddenly they were living out a real-life picture of Proverbs 19:21.
Through their story and the truth of Scripture, you’ll be reminded that when your plans break down, God’s purpose does not. He sees the full path when you can only see the next step.
Main Scripture:
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) – “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why God often works through detours and disruptions
- How unexpected seasons can grow your faith
- What it means to follow God when He changes your direction
- How to stay faithful when life doesn’t go the way you planned
Today’s Challenge:
Identify one area of your life that isn’t going according to your plan.
Write next to it: “The Lord’s purpose will prevail.”
Ask God to help you trust Him with the detour and follow Him with courage today.
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It was supposed to be a quick test flight, about a week
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on the International Space Station, then home. Instead,
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Boeing's Starliner ran into helium and thruster problems,
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and NASA decided to bring the capsule back without the crew.
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Bush Willmore and SUNY Williams stayed aboard the space station
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far beyond the plan. When your return ride gets grounded, what
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do you hold on to?
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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and
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today we're talking about the days and sometimes the seasons
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when life doesn't follow the script you wrote. You plan
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carefully, and you prepare well, and then something breaks, or
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stalls, or takes a hard left you never expected. The big question
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is, what do we do when our plans fall apart? Proverbs 19, 21 says,
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You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail. Now,
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this verse doesn't say not to plan, or that planning is bad.
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It just reminds us that God sees the full picture, while we only
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see a slice. His purpose never detours, even when our plans do.
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Well, what about our astronauts? Willmore kept showing up to
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worship. As an elder in his home church, he kept calling back to
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his church and tending to the flock from orbit. A week-long
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trip to space extended to eight months. Not what he had planned.
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Months later, he and Williams splashed down off the Florida
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coast in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, ending roughly nine months in
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space that began as a one-week mission. Many plans, but the
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Lord's purpose will prevail. Are we willing to trust when God
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places a detour in our path? And if you've lived long enough, you
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know the feeling. The email that changes everything. The phone
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call you weren't expecting. The appointment that runs long. The
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project that falls apart. Or the diagnosis that rearranges your
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whole life. Life is full of detours. Some of them are small.
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Some of them are life-altering. We often find ourselves asking,
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Lord, what now? But Proverbs 19 reminds us that God is never
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scrambling. He's never surprised. And he never abandons his
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purpose in your life. Not even for a moment. Now that's the
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tension of the Christian life. We plan because planning is wise,
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but we hold our plans loosely because we serve a God who leads
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us and directs us in ways we don't always understand at the
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time. And often, it's in the detours that God does his
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greatest work. Sometimes, he slows you down so you'll see
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something you missed. Sometimes, he reroutes you to protect you
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from something you didn't know was coming.
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God uses the long, unexpected seasons to grow faithfulness and
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character in ways the easy path never could. interruption, a
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long season of waiting, or a complete change of direction.
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Remember this. God didn't lose track of you. His purpose is
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still moving forward, even if you feel stuck in place. Here's
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today's challenge. Take one plan today that isn't going right. Or,
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maybe one thing that has completely derailed, and say out
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loud, Lord, I know your plans are good. Help me trust that
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your way is best. Then, ask him to show you one small step of
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faithfulness you can take right where you are, not where you
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expect it to be. Lord, thank you that when my plans fall apart,
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yours don't. Help me trust when things don't go as I planned, or
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when they stretch longer than expected. Teach me to walk
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faithfully in the detours, believing that your purpose is
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good and right. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks for joining me
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today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, God's
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purpose stands even when your plans don't. Come back next time
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for more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth.
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Until then, God bless, and have a great day.
