When Your Day Doesn’t Go as Planned

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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.