You Need to Live Strong When God Pauses Your Plans

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You’ve made plans and are accomplishing your goals day after day. Everything is on schedule, but then, out of nowhere, God pauses your plans.

What do you do?

Rev’s grandfather was a pastor, and although he entered heaven before Rev was born, his legacy inspired a heart for ministry in the young man who carried his genes. From a very young age, Rev wanted to be a pastor, just like his Grandpa Fiess.

Their family pastor said that the best way to achieve his goal was to enter pre-ministerial training as soon as possible. Although his family couldn’t afford it, members of the congregation pooled their funds, and Rev began what was to be a 10-year path to ordination.

High School, College, and the first years of Seminary were all going according to plan. That is, until one day in January when everything changed. The President and several professors were removed from their positions, and the student body held a walkout. By Thursday of that week, the former Sem. President and many of the professors and students left and launched a new Seminary. People were taking sides, and many of our friends were moving on.

This was not on the agenda! Nothing felt right, and Rev had no idea what to do. Should he go? Should he stay? What would his mother say? What would the people contributing to his education think? What did God want for him? For us?

We prayed and prayed, and the answer we kept getting was to wait … to neither stay nor go, but to take a pause and trust God.

David wrote…

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
while I am here in the land of the living.
Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 27:13–14

So, that’s what we did.

Rev called his mom. She wasn’t happy, but she understood. The people at church were understanding.

We were nervous. In less than a week, we’d gone from a well-planned to an uncertain future.

I was teaching, but Rev was never someone who could be content sitting on the couch. So, the following week, he started working at a Tennis Club. By mid-summer, he had been hired by Lutheran Hour Ministries as a District Representative in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York, and we made Columbus, Ohio, our home base.

Then, the following summer, his boss asked him to return to the main offices in St. Louis and help with the development/fund-raising efforts there.

By God’s grace, the leadership welcomed his desire to continue his education and return to the Seminary. So, according to God’s plan, Rev graduated and was ordained only one year later than we originally planned.

What did we learn from that experience?

5 Important Things to Do
When God Pauses Your Plans

Praise God, He gave us an example to follow in David, who was anointed as the future king of Israel at the age of 15 but not commissioned into the position until he was 30. Those 15 years of waiting required prayer, faith, and hard work every day.

So, when God pauses your plans and mine, we need to remember these words from David…

Commit everything you do to the Lord.
    Trust Him, and He will help you.

Psalm 37:5

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and He turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1

This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    He is my God, and I trust Him.

Psalm 91:2

Let’s pray…

A Prayer When God Pauses Your Plans

Father God, like little children, we make our plans and expect them to come to fruition. We set our sights on a goal, and get frustrated when anything interferes. Whether we expect something to take days, weeks, or years, we believe that our planning and determination will achieve what we’re determined to do and have.

But Your plans don’t always align with ours. Your personalized plans and purposes for us may be different.

You inspired Isaiah to write…

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
 “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” (Isaiah 55:8)

I surrender myself to You. Please guide me and help me remain on the path You have prepared for me. Please speak Your peace to my heart and give me everything I need to trust You on this journey called life. I love You, Lord. I trust that Your will for me is loving and good.

Please give me everything I need to work diligently and glorify You faithfully. You led Your people throughout Scripture, and I believe You will lead me when I keep my heart and mind focused on You. In the precious name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

I understand that not all pauses have happy endings. Believe me, there have been plenty of things that have not gone the way I planned or wanted.

But I still believe that whatever happens, life is better when we surrender ourselves to God and 1) Pray, 2) Pause, 3) Trust His love, 4) Live Strong in Faith, and 5) Work hard.

So, when God pauses your plans, remember His plans are prepared with love. He cares about every part of your life. He promises to be your refuge and strength today and your hope for the future.

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