Do you have any plans for this coming summer?
Hopefully you do! We all make plans. Families plan vacations, schedules, meals, and parties. Kids plan what they want to do after school or on the weekend. And it’s a good thing to make plans! But sometimes, no matter how carefully we plan, things don’t go the way we expected. Plans can easily change or fall apart. And that can be frustrating or even scary.
Our verse today gives us a lot of comfort when it comes to plans.
Even when our plans change, God’s plans do not.
We may decide which path to take, but it’s God who guides our footsteps. He sees what we can’t. He knows what we don’t.
But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to trust him. We like to trust ourselves even more. But we can’t always help that our plans change when they do. Those moments can be full of frustration or disappointment, but they’re also opportunities to remember who’s really in control. Changes may surprise us, but they never surprise God.
The best proof of that is Jesus. From a human point of view, it seemed like everything had gone wrong when Jesus was arrested and crucified. But that was God’s plan all along – his perfect plan to save us. What looked like the worst moment became the best one! So when your plans change this week or this summer, take a deep breath and remember: God is guiding your steps and you can trust him, even when things do go your way.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.
Proverbs 16:9
Keep the Conversation Going
For Younger Kids:
- What is a plan you made that didn’t work out?
- Who is always guiding our steps?
- How can we trust God when things change?
For Older Kids:
- Why do you think it’s hard when plans don’t go the way we expect?
- How does this verse help you think differently about unexpected changes?
- How does what happened to Jesus help you trust God’s plan in your own life?
