When God Changes Our Plans

We never know when God has detours planned for our lives, but He always does what's best for us. 

Almost twenty years ago, my husband and I felt unsettled, so we decided to take a free military "hop" to England so we could pray for three months, seeking God's plans for our future.(1) 

Or so we thought... 

But God had a divine detour planned. 

I won't go into all the details, but we ended up in Budapest, Hungary—a place we'd never been. And our three months of prayer turned into five years of ministry in Hungary. 

God gave us a love for the people and the country, and we are so blessed that He sent us there.

Accepting detours helps us understand the practical wisdom from these two proverbs:

"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps." Proverbs 16:9

"Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed."  Proverbs 16:3 

In every area of life, we Christians should prayerfully make our plans, committing them to the Lord, always ready to embrace His divine detours.

It's not a beatitude, but it expresses this biblical principle: "Blessed are the flexible: for they shall not be broken."

--------------

I originally entitled this devotion "Sziasztok." It's the way Hungarians say hello or good-bye to close friends. It's a friendly, flexible greeting. 

(1) A military "hop" is a  flight that active and retired military can take on a space-available basis. My husband is retired from the Army. 

This post was originally posted in September 2013 and updated in 2021.

Bible Love Notes