Proverbs 19:21
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
A couple of months before I graduated high school, I ran across Proverbs 19:21 in a devotional. At the time it couldn’t have felt more perfect. I’ve always been one to plan ahead, sometimes to the point that it is overwhelming, but for once in my life I didn’t know exactly where I was going. I thought I knew where I was headed. At least, I’d spent months trying to decided which college would be the best, how I would pay for it, and all the picky little details. But when I read this verse I suddenly knew that none of this was in my hands. I could plan all I wanted, but in the end, the Lord was going to use my life for whatever he knew was best.
On graduation day I walked up the platform in a flowing white graduation gown, and on my head, my cap read the words of my new favorite memory verse. But did I really know what they meant? You see, up until that point, everything had gone exactly as planned. Every little thing was falling into place, and it was easy for me to let God do what he wanted with my life, cause in those moments his plans seemed to be exactly the same as mine.
In almost exactly one month, it will be a year since I received my high school diploma. If you had asked me on that day what my life would be like today, I could have told you a lot of things that have in fact come true. But, there are so many things that have happened to me in the past year that I never would have expected, and other things that I planned to happen that never came true. Through these experiences, I have learned the true meaning behind the words of Proverbs 19:21. Not everything is going to go exactly as I plan. Life doesn’t work that way. Instead I have to accept that God has a plan that is more powerful than anything I could ever prepare for, and it is time for me to let go of the death grip I hold on scheduling and planning my life out so precisely. It is time to let God show me the way.
This blog is meant to be a place where I can share the ways the Lord has allowed his purpose to prevail when I was not aware, both in my life and the lives of those around me. Furthermore, I pray that this blog may open my eyes to the work that He is constantly doing in my life when I least expect it. I encourage you to join me on this journey of seeing His hand in every aspect of our lives, and to let His purpose overshadow all of our plans.
-Mariellen
May 2014
Proverbs 19:21 