God’s Plan for You is Right on Time

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen this photo. It’s part of a new ‘lil collaboration I have going with one of my talented friends Kelsey of Pinegate Road. It’s my words + her lovely hand lettering. And while it’s not a fancy or complicated collaboration by any means, it’s giving me lots of fresh inspiration for new stories to write and tell. (You can follow this collaboration on Instagram using the hashtag #aptdnotes.)

You’re blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by GOD.
You’re blessed when you follow His directions,
doing your best to find Him.  (‭Psalm‬ ‭119‬:‬ 1-2 MSG)

I’ve been thinking a lot about these verses lately and how it can be easy to take our eyes off the path God has for us. When I start comparing my story with others,’ I’m tempted to veer off course and write things the way I think they should go. I wrestle with God over timing, circumstances, and the way my current season stacks up against those around me.

It’s so easy to think someone else is living a better story than we are, isn’t it? Or that because our story doesn’t look as far along as theirs, something must be wrong with ours — or worse, with us.

But those thoughts are just lies that we believe.

And we don’t have to believe them.

God’s plan for us is right on time, and He will faithfully reveal each next step for us when the time is right.

The second part of those verses in Psalms does require action on our part, though. The writer of this Psalm is reminding us that we are blessed when we FOLLOW God and do our best to FIND Him. That means seeking Him in everything, asking Him for wisdom and guidance, and making Him a part of everything we do.

I find myself comparing more frequently and feeling the most dissatisfaction when I’m NOT seeking God regularly. And I think that’s because when I’m not seeking Him and listening for Him in all I do, I can’t clearly see the path He has marked out for me. Instead, I see the path that everyone else is on and what I think is missing or lacking in my life. I completely miss the opportunity to praise Him for what He’s doing in my life and what is unique and special about the story He has especially for me.

I am so thankful that we can find Him in every season, in every chapter — in both the joyful and the challenging moments of our lives.

And even though I sometimes wrestle with some of my current realities, I take comfort in knowing that when I seek Him, He will continue to reveal the road before me and lead me step by step.

So, today, I am choosing to celebrate this particular part of the road I’m on, this part of my journey. I am choosing to look around at where I am with gratitude and with eyes that can see and appreciate beauty. And I am choosing to live with hope for what’s ahead, for all of the twists and turns and bends that I cannot yet see.